Delavan Art Gallery

Delavan Art Gallery Media Coverage

2010-04-10T10:31:00.004-04:00

Thanks so much to everyone for your love and support. See the links below for some of the media coverage announcing the gallery's closing:

Digg.com
(Article by Nancy Keefe Rhodes)

Syracuse.com Article

NBC 3
(Article)

NBC 3
(Video)

YNN
(Video and Article)

Syracuse New Times
(Article)

Delavan Art Gallery Announces Plans to Close May 1

2010-04-09T08:22:00.001-04:00

April 8, 2010

To: Artists, Friends, Patrons, Staff, and Supporters:

As Director it is my task to inform you that Delavan Art Gallery is closing at the end of our current exhibit, The Color of Spring, on Saturday, May 1, 2010. This culminates nearly seven years of operation, fifty-four major exhibits for the work of one hundred eighty-six area artists in individual shows, fifteen group and special shows for upwards of two hundred twenty artists, and seven shows of the elementary students from two of our neighborhood schools (Blodgett and Seymour Magnet). Through all of these exhibitions we have had the pleasure of hanging or displaying nearly ten thousand pieces of artwork.

For the future, we are planning to turn the gallery space into five smaller art related areas. Tentative names for the spaces are "The Art Shops at Delavan Center" or "The Art Shops on West Fayette St." While none of the plans are concrete, one of the spaces may be rented by current Gallery Manager, Caroline Szozda-McGowan, with the plan to be opening sometime during the summer or fall. In addition, one of the other newly-created spaces may serve as a general display space for special art displays and other art related events.

The decision to close Delavan Art Gallery has been long in coming and has been most difficult to make. While we are a for-profit gallery, we have been, in reality, a "double bottom line" enterprise. We have measured our success both by money and by the achievement of less quantifiable goals related to enhancing opportunities for area visual artists. Thus, from the onset, we stated that our mission was "to show and sell the fine art of area artists in the best possible setting". Thus, while economic considerations are certainly a part of the decision, they are by no means the only part. Nearly seven years of intensive effort in the arts is a long time. It is now time to explore new horizons.

To put it briefly in context, at the time I conceived the idea of creating a gallery in 2001, several existing art galleries in Syracuse had recently closed, or were about to do so. I also knew that there were many fine visual artists in the central New York area whose work should not only be seen, but also sold so that they could make more of their living at their art. Thus, in designing the gallery, having observed the art scene for three decades, I felt that a new approach should be tried. The gallery was designed both physically and operationally to achieve the above goals.

In reviewing the history I feel very good about what we were able to accomplish in our time of operation. We've provided a superior space for area artists to show their work-and we've sold a lot of it. This exposure and these sales have helped many area artists. In addition, from the beginning, the gallery became a meeting place for artists, their friends and supporters, and the larger community. The gallery has clearly enabled area residents, as well as visitors to the area, to see the high quality of art produced by our area artists. The various cultural events-including artist talks and presentations, music, poetry readings, and theater-brought many people into the gallery who might not otherwise have visited, as did the fundraisers, recognitions, parties, and weddings.

Each of the fifty-four exhibits has required a process of selection of theme, artists, and artwork; placement of the hanging panels; placement of art; hanging of the art work; labeling; lighting; openings with food and beverages; parking; staffing; selling; takedown; and return to the artist or delivery to a buyer. From the beginning the curatorial decisions were a joint effort performed by Caroline Szozda McGowan, Gallery Manager, and me. (We were also assisted in this task from time to time by the many able employees, volunteers, and interns we've had over the years.) As a result of our processes I can truly and honestly say that I have liked every show we put up. We have been continuously energized by so much: the area artists, their work, the patrons, and visitors-many of whom have become regulars, the elementary students, the concept shows such as the Fashion Fashion, the Wrapping Contest, Shadows, and the Wild Card area.

With a truly remarkable staff we did so much and, I hope and think, made a positive contribution to the visual arts and to the community. Each person will, of course, judge the outcomes from their own perspective and definition of success. Perhaps some will say that we should have done this or that differently. Fair enough, go for it.

However, the money side of things was more difficult. While we had many very loyal supporters, which we are most grateful for, and we sold a lot of work, the numbers still did not work out. In the long run that's got to sway things.

Speaking personally, it is hard, indeed painful, to close. One of my criteria from the beginning is that in working we must have fun or we can't do it. We did. I believe I speak for all of us when I say that the operation of the gallery has been exhilarating and educational - indeed inspiring - as we conceived each show, installed the work, and met the people. But now it's time to make a change. As the owner of Delavan Center I will continue to operate the building with its mixed uses of businesses and artists' studios. Over the course of time we have considered many good ideas for shows, some of which we were able to achieve. However, there are still many more "on the table" which beg to be done. I hope to be able to work on some of these ideas and be involved in area art activities in the future. In the words of AAAArnold, "I'll be baaaack."

Many, many thank you's are due:

To the artists of the area who have been so supportive of the gallery since opening in 2003 - through their participation in shows, attendance at openings, purchases of other artists' artwork, encouragement, suggestions, and creativity.

To the patrons, residents and visitors to this area who have enabled us to carry on through the years.

To my marvelous gallery staff over the years (in order of hiring):

Caroline Szozda-McGowan, Gallery Manager
Amy Bartell, PR Coordinator
Courtney Rile, PR & Marketing
Roslyn Esperon, Gallery Assistant
Amy Komar, Gallery Assistant
Gloria Romeo, PR Coordinator
Jessica Heckman, Marketing Coordinator
Kathy Simpson, Assistant Manager

To the building staff who have been so helpful in so many ways:

Terry Delavan for her help with openings
Debbie Durr for her advice and help with openings
Jerry Durr for his help at openings
Jerry Hill for his help in setting up panels
Reginald Sanford for all of the things he did to make the gallery sparkle

To some of the more recent volunteers who have helped with the openings and other events: Christine Chansamone, Cathy Craig, Holly Delavan, Debbie Durr, Jerry Durr, Katie Calak, Lacey McKinney, Megan Murad, Phil Parsons, Kathy Simpson, and Jojo Siu.

To the many interns and other volunteers who have been so helpful.

To the media, for helping us in the constant effort to increase knowledge of the arts in Central New York:

Syracuse Post-Standard
Syracuse Post-Standard - Stars and Neighbors section specifically
The Scotsman Pennysaver
The Eagle Newspapers
The Syracuse New Times
WCNY
WRVO

To our loyal artists and friends, who are so numerous that to attempt to list them, would be to omit many equally deserving people.

AND, a special thanks to my wife, Terry, for all of her efforts in helping with food purchases, staffing openings, and advice.

Yours most sincerely,

Bill Delavan, Gallery Director

**Note: To artists with work on exhibit or at the gallery - we will contact each of you directly to arrange for pick-up of your work. Thank you.

The Little Couture Show That Could

2010-03-25T17:23:00.002-04:00

A dream…exuberance of young talent…risk taking…community support, and voila! You have couture designed by two energetic, self-taught early 20 year olds introduced in a show that they produced to benefit the peoples of far-away Haiti. Here’s how the story of the show unfolds. A few months before, Bilaya Jackson (age 21) and Me’lisa Matthews (age 22) were directed to stop in at the Delavan Art Gallery, across the way from the fabric store the pair often traded at. With their small portfolio of sketches in hand, they met gallery director Bill Delavan who was impressed with their work and encouraged them to continue.

Not very long after that first visit, the girls returned to the gallery and booked the venue for a show in which they would introduce their own unique couture. The show date was March 12, 2010, just two months away and leaving barely enough time to create and finish designs for models to wear. The heavy task had to be squeezed in between work at local nursing homes and numerous meetings of counseling on how to start and promote a special event, much less to tout the start of a new business.

The night of March 12 finally arrived (a little too soon for several of those involved in helping Bilaya and Me’lisa). The gallery itself was transformed into a professional runway as low white platforms were placed throughout gallery spaces under the capable hands of director Bill Delavan and manager Caroline Szodza-McGowan, each platform surrounded by group seating with tulle-netted mini refreshment tables centered among the groupings and proper lighting installed in the overhangs above.

Admission fee was $15 and family, friends and the public began filing in as soon as the door opened. Within minutes, gallery staff had to set up more chairs beyond the 75 already in place. And still, audience kept coming until the gallery was filled to capacity with many standing in the ‘aisles.’ At precisely 8:05 pm, the program got underway. Bill Delavan welcomed everyone, recognized co-chairs Van and Linda Robinson and introduced the evening’s MC, Maureen “Moe” Harrington who first introduced Joseph Slavik, President, Catholic Charities and Community Services and Diocesan Director, Haiti Relief Fund. Then “Moe” called Bilaya and Me’lisa to the podium to be recognized before each of the girl’s couture designs were unveiled.

In every bit of the showman style for which she is theatrically known, “Moe” began the runway show, starting with Bilaya’s first segment of Billie Dreams Couture titled, “A Soldier’s Story.” Then came Me’lisa’s first segment of JEMA Couture, “Glamrock.” Second show segments followed with Bilaya’s “Concrete Jungle” and Me’lisa’s “Everything That Glitters.” Gorgeous, tall models slowly strutted and pivoted the runway, giving an appreciative audience time to savor the unique colors, fabrics and designs.

Rewarding gratitude for the night’s success came in many forms. First, there was the experience of seeing the joy and pride of family members who brought bouquets of flowers, and the tears of an older brother who had come to cheer on the only male model in the show who designed the jeans he wore. All food was graciously donated, including luscious gourmet chocolate truffles, Irish Soda Bread, brownies, veggie dips, fruit, soda, coffee and an assortment of exotic teas. However, the crowning reward and gratitude came a few days later when Bishop Robert Cunningham recognized Bilaya’s and Me’lisa’s efforts at a press conference marking the presentation of a gift to the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Director of Catholic Relief Services. The check totaled $650,000, collected from diocesan parishioners and including the net proceeds of $1,020 raised by the ‘little couture show that could”… and did!

Gloria Romeo, Public Relations Coordinator
Photos provided by Adrienne DeWitt

Review of Art: 2003 - 2009 by Katherine Rushworth

2010-03-09T13:39:00.000-05:00

Delavan Art Gallery recently was reviewed by Katherine Rushworth. Please click on the link below to read it:
The Post-Standard - CNY Arts

Feel free to leave comments there or on this blog! We would love to hear your thoughts!

Don't Miss Our Seventh Annual Elementary School Benefit Exhibit

2010-03-05T17:51:00.001-05:00

The art teachers of Blodgett and Seymour Elementary Schools re-enforce our thoughts about teachers as mentors, role models and "gardeners." These talented teachers not only help the students, who range from pre-K through grade 8, to express themselves, but are also instrumental to the installation of the show here at the gallery.

Viewing the children’s art gives clear evidence that the children’s talent is nurtured and encouraged to the child’s highest potential. Truly, the art reveals individual character and personality. For example, one young man created a self-portrait in pencil and the use of eraser. It is incredible. His art was the first to sell. As you can imagine, he was very proud, as were his parents when they joined us the afternoon of the opening.

Half of the purchase price of the art goes to the young artist and the other half goes to the art teacher toward future art supplies. Here is a prime example of the impact teachers have on our students and how our students, these budding young artists, learn that such a talent can be appreciated by many while benefiting to the source from which they were sprouted!

Out thanks go to our three art teachers involved in this exhibit, Kelly Moser-Volger of Seymour and Izzy Dugger and Stacy Griffin of Blodgett.

The show runs through Saturday, March 20, 2010. Please join us in supporting and celebrating these wonderful young artists!

Thoughts on Art: 2003-2009

2010-02-16T16:28:00.000-05:00

During this year that I’ve worked at the gallery, I’ve grown to know a large percentage of the artists, their particular style and chosen medium. As I would name an artist, an automatic image of their artwork would come to mind. However, it’s been a refreshing shake-up with the inventory these past weeks, preparing for this show. Lately, I’m finding that it’s a certain challenge re-associating art with its respective artist. The gallery supports over 200 artists while the show currently consists of nearly 70 of those fantastic artists who have shown here from 2003 to 2009. As a whole, the artists have remained consistent with their approach to their work while others have veered off into a slightly different direction.

For example, Laura Wellner had worked in a more subdued way, using pencil/watercolor, opaque gouache and graphite. Nature inspired, her small framed pieces were presented behind glass. Wellner’s new direction has taken her art to a more geometric route. She is now exploring the use of acrylic, monotype on Hosho Sumi paper that is then applied to canvas. She then continues to develop the piece from there. Her art is still relatively small while her color palette is more intense and vibrant.

Harry R. Freeman-Jones is another artist that made me do a swirl-around. I usually associate a two dimensional, color photograph, framed behind glass when I think of Harry. For this show, he not only submitted black and white photography but also a three dimensional piece! It is also inspired by nature but carved out of Italian Alabaster. I have a new appreciation of Harry now as a sculptor!

Linda Esterley was an artist in the gallery’s Fiber Art show last year. Her unique use of Australian Merino wool, silk and yak in her over-sized, form core mounted art are the pieces I think of when I think of Linda. She has turned a corner for this show by doing assemblage, not your typical sculpture or fiber piece. Her art is more playful, with her use of jewels, antique items and some text with photos. It’s fun to discover hidden details. All of Linda’s art seems to invite the viewer to touch.

Diana Godfrey, a mixed media artist, did large framed pieces behind glass. She hasn’t deviated from her signature style for this show. Her style consists of subtle, earthy color acrylics or pastel on paper, torn in pieces and layered, giving a true sense of texture. However, she approaches her art on a smaller scale, as miniatures!

Lastly, Kyle Mort is an artist newly introduced to me that I want to add to the list of refreshing art. He is a realist painter who uses watercolor as his medium. His subjects are inanimate objects which include candies, a granny apple, pears or a popsicle. Mort’s true to life colors, shadowing, and his choice of arrangement, gives these objects a humanistic value and a definite personality.

As I smile with a new appreciation of our artists, I ask those reading this blog and those who haven’t seen the show yet, please don’t take my word. Instead, come and see for yourself. Maybe you will spot an artist’s style evolving differently from what you know of them or an artist you want to know who strikes you as a breath of fresh air, as I do!

Kathy Simpson

Gallery Assistant

New Year, New Show

2010-02-10T16:30:00.000-05:00

Art: 2003 - 2009

In creating Delavan Art Gallery’s January featured exhibition, director Bill Delavan draws from the gallery’s continuing art exhibition concept, paying tribute to a group of artists aligned with the gallery since its inception over six years ago.

“Art: 2003 – 2009” opened Thursday, January 21, Th3, with a reception that night from 5:00 – 8:00 pm. The gallery was packed with artists, families, friends and the public who viewed and enjoyed over 200 works of art displaying a roster of techniques from painting, drawing and photography to sculputer, galss and mixed media. The show has been extended March 27, 2010.

Both director Delavan and gallery manager Caroline Szozda-McGowan—who has managed the gallery since it opened—felt that a look back serves important dual purposes: an opportunity for further public awareness of these artists, while also giving a nod of thanks to them for their continued support of the art gallery and their contribution to the visual arts in Central New York.

Going by the numbers, the exhibition celebrates the last six and a half years at Delavan Art Gallery, comprising 52 shows with over 200 exhibited, along with six years of elementary art shows, with the seventh year in progress. Both Delavan and Szozda-McGowan agree that this show “gives us another chance to view the artists who have shown with us since we opened, and how their styles have evolved.”

“Art: 2003 – 2009” runs the gamut of artistic endeavors. Among the artists currently included in the show are: Joan Applebaum, Jamie Ashlaw, Phil Austin, Christopher Baker, Thomas Barnes, Amy E. Bartell, Marna Bell, Lydia M. Benscher, Douglas Biklen, Arthur Brangman. Frank Calidonna. Robert Carroll, Tom Champion, Jennifer Colvin, Barbara Conte-Gaugel, Evelyn Dankovich, A. Brooks Decker, Jim Dieso, John Dowling, Patrice Downes Centore, Linda Esterley, Alison Fisher, Vincent Fitches,

Roscha Folger, Michael David Fox, Harry

R. Freeman-Jones, Chris Galin, Vivian Geiger, Robert Glisson, Diana Godfrey, Andrea Hall, Judith Hand, Wendy Harris, Rudy Hellmann, C.J. Hodge, Joyce Day Homan, R Jason Howard, Tom Hussey, Richard Karuzas, Mary Kester, Crystal LaPoint, Brian Lister, John (Jaws) McGrath, Diane Menzies, Kyle Mort, Stephen Perrone, Lauren Ritchie, Stephen Ryan, Kathleen Schneider, David B. Schultz, Richard Schultz, Eric W. Shute, Tim See, James Skvarch, C. Wilkinson Thomas, Yolanda Tooley, Tom Townsley, James R. Walker, Fred Wellner, Laura Wellner and Ruth Wynn.

Thoughts from an Intern

2010-02-05T10:28:00.002-05:00

The gallery’s newest shows feature a variety of new artwork as the artists choose to continue in particular styles, or reinvent themselves with new techniques or subjects.

One particular collection that jumped out at me was Connie Carroll’s “Serious Art for Children.” It features the use of extremely vibrant color, playful use of the brush and deliberate, chaotic strokes and “scratches” into the paint. I loved the layering of the pastel colors, particularly in “Shadow Sailing Away.” The most memorable feature of all her pieces is that it places the viewer in a specific time, location, and memory, as seen in “Bright Kites, Night Flights.” The strokes she uses in her pieces also evoke a great deal of movement, as seen in “Round the World”. In addition, her subjects have characters and personalities that show her connection to illustration.

I was also fascinated by the glass sculptures scattered across the gallery. They are a particularly eye-catching addition to the landscape, portrait, or abstract pieces which adorn the walls. Phil Austin’s glass vases feature multiple layers of detail that recall elements of nature. The circular, repeating motifs, found in his “Yellow/Green Nouveau Vase” for example, are reminiscent of pussy willows by the lake, or an owl’s beady eyes.

R Jason Howard’s series of glass sculptures are a different approach to creating innovative, unique, and beautifully delicate glasswork. The imagery he creates is reminiscent of lace, or dew drops on a spider web.

The assemblage pieces by Linda Esterley were another favorite of mine. The combination or assembly of old antique items, are a very different and sometimes unexpected artistic direction. But the viewer can see how meticulous the artist is in her placement of the objects. The story behind the pieces is a subject of curiosity—haunting, but beautiful—especially when the artist’s original intention is not directly stated.

Jojo Siu

Gallery Intern

February 2010

Serious Art for Children

2010-02-04T15:58:00.000-05:00

A new collection of works by noted illustrator and painter Connie Carroll is featured in Delavan Art Gallery’s Wild Card show, on view January 21 through February 27, 2010. “Serious Art for Children” opened with a reception on Thursday, January 21 (Th3) from 5:00–8:00pm.

Carroll has created this new series for children of any age, and it is meant to encourage an appreciation for the arts even in young children. According to Carroll, “Art given to a child should not be irrelevant outside the nursery. The work should be enduring and feel appropriate displayed in their future home or office, whatever age they are.” She suggests that exposing children to art at a young age can teach them that art has value, and can serve as an introduction into the world of collecting fine art. Carroll explains that “Children have a right to good art, are entitled to be introduced to it and educated about it.”

This latest group of paintings bears the same lighthearted and whimsical approach as her previous work. The work in this series adds colorful dimension to common enjoyable experiences or fantasies for children, such as space travel or other adventures. In her artist statement, Carroll thanks “children of all ages, from one to one hundred” for joining her in exploring the fantasies depicted in these paintings.

Though Carroll’s educational background is in illustration, she views her paintings from a fine art standpoint. She says, “To me, art is art if the formal elements of art are being employed. My version of Rene Descartes’ quote is: I create, therefore I am. I love to make pictures.”

In her own words, Carroll describes the subject matter she chooses as “somewhat irrelevant, but is simply used to tell a story of color and composition.” She typically uses bold, primary, vibrant color combined with some drawing that is achieved by scratching through layers of paint, creating a more dimensional picture.

Carroll has exhibited at the International Licensing Show at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City and at the Wendy Rosen Show in Philadelphia, PA. Her illustrative design works have been commissioned by such companies as American Art Stamp in Torrance, CA; Earlville Opera House, Earlville, NY; and Girls, Inc. Magazine. She has designed billboards for Delavan Art Gallery, where also her “Cards by Connie” have sold very well and she has exhibited previously in the Wild Card space. Delavan is just one of many galleries across the country where Carroll has sold her illustrative design works.

The next Wild Card, “Blodgett and Seymour Benefit Art Show” opens March 4 with a reception on Thursday, March, from 3 to 6 PM and continues through March 13. This exhibit features work by the elementary students at Blodgett and Seymour Magnet Elementary Schools. The show is a chance for the students to not only display and sell their work but to also help raise funds for their art programs.

Links to check out

2010-02-04T15:26:00.000-05:00

Be sure to check out The Post Standard's articles by Melinda Johnson on: Art of the Matter

Just to pat ourselves on the back... Here's a link to the blog of a recent visitor who commented on his first visit to the gallery: Tom Dwyer's Blog

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-23T11:30:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays from everyone at Delavan Art Gallery!

We'd like to thank everyone for their continued support and we look forward to seeing you in the New Year.

The Staff of Delavan Art Gallery

Please note our additional holiday hours!

2009-12-16T16:15:00.000-05:00

Not only are we open our normal gallery hours through December 19 (Thursday and Friday from noon to 6 PM and Saturday from 10 AM to 4 PM), but we are also open special hours between now and Christmas.

Special Hours:

Tuesday and Wednesday (December 22, and 23), noon to 6 PM
Thursday, December 24 from 11 AM - 2 PM

Stop by to pick up a unique gift for someone on your holiday shopping list! We have beautiful and unique gifts at a variety of prices - or pick up a gift certificate if you can't decide! Your purchase supports local Syracuse artists and brings new and exciting art to someone you love!

Syracuse Ceramic Guild exhibition

2009-12-16T16:13:00.003-05:00

A collective display of members’ works at Delavan Art Gallery by the Syracuse Ceramic Guild is part of the organization’s mission to promote awareness and understanding of the ceramic medium, and also ties in with the gallery’s goal to feature and celebrate local artists.

The Syracuse Ceramic Guild installation, featuring pieces by nine of its member artists, opened in the gallery’s Wild Card space on Thursday, December 3 and remains up through Thursday, December 19. Please visit the City Eagle online for an article about the exhibition:
City Eagle Article

Brief introductions to each of the member artists celebrated in this show follow:

Carol Adamec, recently retired art teacher at Westhill High School, Syracuse, NY, is a native of Long Island who “fell in love with clay” when she was 10 years old and ever since, has ‘found clay and metal sculpture to be significant means’ of expression in her life. She says, “I work to express the reality of positive emotions we feel in our daily lives, translating them into a physical state and bringing them to peoples’ attention with beauty and elegance.” Indeed, Adamec’s works are described as “graceful, elegant and sensual.”

Lory Black also tells of her early “love affair with clay” and how it becomes “expressions of emotion,” pieces of inner feelings of “love, happiness, joy, sadness or beauties of nature.” Black’s experience in teaching kindergarten in the inner city instilled in her the wonderment and magic of the medium, referring to students’ creations as filled with the freedom and imagination of their uninhibited expression.

Walt Black, Lory’s husband, says he ‘came rather late to the art form,’ and describes his works as ‘strong,’ influenced by his years of physical activities and professional career as teacher, coach and administrator of Physical Education and Athletics. He adds, however, that he has always been interested in the relationship between ‘art and sport.’ Black enjoys the stimulation of creating a functional piece of pottery. He and his wife now have a studio in their home and one at their camp in the foothills of the Adirondacks where, he says, “we can produce ceramics inspired by the woods and Kayuta Lake.”

Sue Canizares likens her surface decorating on stoneware and porcelain to ‘embroidery’ saying the technique called “Sgraffito” design is finished using clay as thread and fire as loom. Having lived for a time in the rich historical region of Burgundy, France, Canizares says she draws inspiration from the culture of the medieval period, viewing ancient tapestries both as a window to the past and as a resource for creation of the stylized flowers, vines, leaves and animals that adorn her three-dimensional pieces.

Megan Conner, ceramics teacher at Jamesville-DeWitt High School, says her work is strongly influenced by the colors, patterns and textures she sees in the natural world. To her, the veins of a leaf or the texture of eroded stone represent growth and the passage of time and she refers to those ideas for expression in the carved and stamped surfaces of her pottery and textural compositions of her tiles. Conner’s current theme of work focuses on landscape and its connection “between our physical and emotional landscapes.” She describes her works as “hand built textural wall tiles using slips and stains on layered slabs of clay.”

Miyo Hirano says her wheel-thrown and altered stoneware reflects her Japanese heritage and adds that she is grateful to all those who helped in her journey from when, as a child in Japan, she first experienced the joy of rolling a small clay ball in her cupped palms, to venturing down a potter’s path and ultimately opening her own shop called, “Pleasing Pottery.” Hirano says that “working in clay is a continuum of mystery” and understands that her joy arises in connecting with elements of earth, water, fire and cosmic presences beyond ideas and forming techniques. Compelled to work through her inner self, Hirano says that she applies the concept of “sitting with a beginner’s mind.”

Amy Komar, having worked in a variety of expressive arts mediums from visual arts to performance, finds that the single uniting focus has always been ‘story’ and says her work evolves from a fascination with the personal narrative. She adds, “I draw heavily upon cross-cultural stories, favoring ‘trickster’ tales that explore, teach, cross and push boundaries to walk one’s own path. My visual representation of the trickster has become my personal signature.” Komar loves the direct contact with clay and the freedom of expression that it provides. She says, “As well as incorporating poetry, I can invent a language not limited by words that expands to include form, texture and color.”

Sabrina Nedell, who grew up in the Adirondack region, calls her hand built work ‘whimsical at times’ and says she is influenced by nature. Having been awarded three NYSCA grants, Nedell adds, “I have been seriously playing with and teaching clay for the past 13 years.” Before moving here and teaching classes in her home, she taught at the Old forge Art Center and did all after school art programming for the Camden NY school district. Of her Creamer and Sugar pieces, Nedell says the swirls remind her of seashells or gusts of wind, and the ‘squiggly’ atop the bowl, a whimsical hat..or maybe a croissant.

Wes Weiss, newly retired from the US Postal Service, is forging ahead with his art that first captured his interest much earlier when a student both at SUNY Oswego and later at Syracuse University. He currently works out of a studio at Clayscapes Pottery in Syracuse and hand builds pieces using slab construction methods. Weiss says he enjoys creating curved pieces from leather-hard clay and is currently working with heavy doses of colorants wedged into different clay bodies.

Critique of "Drawing in Air" by Bonnie Rosenberg

2009-12-15T18:15:00.002-05:00

“Drawing in Air” heightens viewer understanding

Bonnie Rosenberg

December 2009

All too often surveyors of art are left to their own devices to decipher the meaning behind paintings, sculptures, installations, or posters. The task can seem insurmountable. But, on rare occasions, artists will take the viewers by the proverbial hand and guide them through their artistic creations

The Delavan Art Gallery’s latest Wild Card exhibit, “Drawing in Air,” explores the work of local artist Andy Schuster. Running concurrently with an exhibition of his sculptures at Lipe Art Park, the show displays the sketches and models that led up to this latest installation as well as some of his ceramic pieces.

For each sculptural model on display there is a bevy of accompanying sketches that flesh out the effects of changing sunlight and the impact of applied color on each monument. With his “Ellipse” series, the projected light of day lends each sketch different weight. Casting shadows change with the moving sun.

In “Red Square,” strategically placed sections of red paint come together to reveal a somewhat hidden, yet cohesive crimson geometric shape.

Each drawing includes flicks of colored ink and pen that suggest the intended color palette. The wisps of ink are hurried and brief, but lend an overall understanding of what the artist envisions in the end.

Text also aids the viewer in grasping Schuster’s grander artistic schema. In “Flapping Wings,” his script reads:

Flight

-birds wings flapping

-allow grass to grow and become part of sculpture

-contrast w/ bldg. windows

These sculptures, and the studies leading up to them, are experiments in shape, perception, and the effects of environment on art. With time, the saplings that constitute these works will blend into their surroundings. Snow and grass will become integral elements in all of the works.

Material is the chief difference between these pieces and that of other sculptors. “Spiral galaxy with grid” takes a page from Richard Serra’s book with its winding design. Though unlike Serra’s large, imposing sheets of manipulated metal, Schuster’s work is fragile and impermanent.

Next to the art itself is a video display of the sculptures as they appear in Lipe Art Park. This display adds to the exhibit’s emphasis on multi-media art production.

Interspersed throughout the studies and models are samplings of Schuster’s ceramics. Fired from the same series, these plates feature primal geometric shapes that float on top of an undulating, rippled surface.

A patina-tinted line cuts through the center of the plate in “Drawing, 9 Triangles.” This disruption adds visual interest and a welcome break from the rigidity of the many painted shapes.

“Drawing in Air” guides you to a certain point. It reveals everything up until the moment of artistic actualization. The next logical step for the viewer is to go out to the Lipe Art Park itself and see the installations in their literal natural habitat. Go, walk under the saplings, watch the shifting shadows, and bring along your newfound understanding of the artist’s intent.

Drawing in Air

2009-11-21T12:16:00.020-05:00

Delavan Art Gallery's newest Wild Card exhibition, Drawing in Air featuring work by Andy Schuster, opened this week with a reception on Thursday, November 19. For this exhibition, Lipe Art Park’s large scale outdoor installation is moving indoors as its designer, Andy Schuster presents renderings of his drawings and planning models for a special exhibit across the way in Delavan Art Gallery. The show remains up through November 28.

Central to his work, Schuster says, is drawing. “I draw on paper, on ceramic surfaces using fire and glaze or in space with steel.” The exhibit at the Delavan will consist of drawings and planning models for the concurrent installation at the park, along with recent ceramic works.

Schuster says, “The drawings, visualizations of the stick sculptures at Lipe, are executed on white ground suggesting snow-covered landscapes, and indicating how the finished installation evolves with seasonal environmental changes throughout the year.” Of his ceramic pieces, Schuster says, “The ceramic work is drawn on clay using glaze and controlled flame patterns produced by a high temperature wood fired kiln, producing loose geometric interventions on the clay’s surface.”

In a recent artist’s statement, Schuster offers insight into a new series of large-scale sculptures he is currently working on that incorporate natural elements, creating pieces that are both interactive with viewer and their surroundings. “The creation of this series of work,” he says, “combines my interests both in sculpture and in natural cycles, and will entail more of an imposing scale than anything I’ve previously attempted.”

Currently On View: Elements

2009-11-21T12:07:00.002-05:00

Just a reminder to stop by Delavan Art Gallery before December 19 to see our feature exhibition, Elements, with work by Lynette Blake, Amy Haven, and Jim Van Hoven. While the three artists each enjoy dual art careers and endeavors, all of them offer strong, insightful statements about their work as painters and potter.

Lynette Blake, well-recognized in the Rochester, NY region where she has exhibited in numerous solo and group shows, has this to say of her richly colored pieces: “In my paintings, I strive to convey a sense of the infinite which exists in the everyday, but is veiled to our conventional senses. I believe that everything within the universe is comprised of the same elements, of the same energy, and if we are open to it, we can perceive and experience the universe through every object, every form of life and equally through every landscape and every event.” She continues, “My current work is an effort to integrate three facets which jointly help us to experience this sense of the infinite: first, that which we call real, the world experienced through our senses, captured by the depiction of objects; secondly, that which is commonly included in the concept of intellectual, expressed by the use of geometric shapes and patterns; and finally, connecting and embracing the first two, the cosmic, expressing that which we can intuit as though things were unbounded by space and time.”

Painter Jim Van Hoven also references the senses and touches on the infinite when describing his approach to his work, saying that in doing a pure landscape piece, “I strive to capture the experience of being immersed in the primeval environment,” adding, “this not only includes the visual experience, but also the sounds, smells and even the temperature of my surroundings. Sometimes there are signs of civilization that are subservient to the landscape. These are usually vestiges of a time gone by that reinforce the transient nature of human existence.” Van Hoven says that his work “is an extension of his personal connection to nature, a combination of observation and memory,” and that he “hopes that the viewer can relate their own experience to my art and gain access to a place they may never have been.” The artist feels that the use of various media, such as oils, watercolors, etchings and pastels, provides him with more “languages to speak in,” and he says that the rural backdrop and areas surrounding his West Monroe, NY “Settlement Studio” provide much of his inspirations for his art.

Amy Haven uses her art to “understand the world through making and using functional objects.” She says, “Clay gives me a connection to cultural pasts and provides me an affinity with my contemporaries. I believe that beauty can be found in the simplest forms, and to me, there is no simpler form than a pot.’ Haven applies the term ‘infinite’ to its possibilities of surface, form and function. She compares the action of opening a kiln to “opening presents under the tree on Christmas morning –You never know what to expect and if you’re lucky you will unwrap a treasure.” In her more recent work, Haven has been exploring the use of text on the surfaces of her pieces, because she explains, “I have been discovering how words can be both functional and decorative, much like any artwork. It is amazing how what we say often defines us and yet the use of intelligent verse is becoming more and more obsolete these days.” Haven, a studio potter and tile maker in Central New York for ten years, was formerly an artist in residence at the Mendocino Art Center in Mendocino, CA and the Watershed Art Center in Edgecomb, MA.

Keep reading the blog for a review of Elements by Bonnie Rosenberg!

In Case You Missed It: TLS Exhibition

2009-11-21T12:04:00.001-05:00

Delavan Art Gallery’s Wild Card Exhibit The Art of Transitional Living Services, which was on view through November 14, celebrated 35 years of services to the Central New York community by TLS, a long-time active organization that provides a broad range of supports and services to individuals living with a developmental disability, mental health issues or brain injury.

The celebratory purpose of the exhibit extended the organization’s focus in helping people live in the community with dignity, responsibility and hope. David Barber, TLS Program and Service Coordinator, says, “An important part of TLS’s philosophy has always been to provide individuals with opportunities to explore their creativity and potential, and we believe that the creative process of art making enriches, heals and enlightens the life of the artist and the viewer as well.”

Transitional Living Services began in 1974 with twenty staff members committed to helping individuals who were being de-institutionalized from state facilities to live in the community. Today, a staff of professionals offer many hundreds of people not only residential services, but also support for employment, education, medical and substance abuse issues, community involvement, habilitation activities and service coordination. The organization’s vision of service encompasses the needs of veterans, immigrants who do not speak English, those with hearing impairments, and other individuals challenged in different ways.

Independent Review: Elements and Transitional Living Services exhibitions

2009-11-07T15:22:00.041-05:00

Delavan looks to the elements for its November Show
-Bonnie Rosenberg

Earth, wind, fire, and water are the substances of life and the soul of the Delavan Art Gallery’s latest exhibition aptly entitled “Elements.” Though vastly different aesthetically, three artists – Lynette Blake, Jim Van Hoven, and Amy Haven – come together in this show to communicate their views of nature. The paintings, ceramics, and woodcuts on display reveal the indelible mark nature leaves on each artist and their work.

Lynette Blake explores the infinite through her oil paintings in an effort to connect herself to the viewer, the viewers to one another, and the in the end, everything in the atmosphere.

Blake’s approach to still lifes and landscapes is double-edged, as she melds organic and geometric shapes on the canvas. In Zigzag, tree branches are superimposed with transparent, kaleidoscopic shapes. The paintings appear to have a distorting piece of glass sitting in between the foundational natural image and the viewer’s gaze.

Each painting is covered in hues of blue and copper. When dominated by shades of copper, the canvases nearly glow with warmth, while the bluer canvases are cooler and more somber.

Positive/Negative looks like an over-exposed photograph. Branches and still life elements dissolve into one another. The radiance of suggested sunlight at the heart of the work abstracts and transforms it. Blake’s highly stylized technique is an exploration in unreality and the duality of the image.

Fellow nature enthusiast Jim Van Hoven’s many incantations of landscapes run the gamut in terms of style, technique, and medium. In all of his works, Van Hoven endeavors to relate an experience rather than a likeness. His aim is to truly capture every aspect of the scenes he paints/etches, etc.

His oil works provide placid vistas of the outdoors. In Rainbow Falls a cascading waterfall rushes to the waiting rocks below. Grays, blues, and forest greens constitute this innocuous painting. Beyond paintings, the exhibit also displays Van Hoven’s woodcuts, which sit on a plane above his other works. In Northern Nocturne, intricately cut treetops weave together in front of an invented moonlit night. Less literal and more editorial, these woodcuts alter nature and defy expectation.

Peppered throughout the exhibit are Amy Haven’s ceramic pieces. Not strictly sculpture-in-the-round, and certainly not paintings (although some are fastened to the walls), these works admittedly teeter on the precipice of decoration and function. While the precise setting for them is unclear, the appeal of them is not.

Haven’s ceramic pillows affix to the wall and are ornamented much like a turn of the century travel trunk. Post cards, stickers, stamps, and text are printed on every rotund rectangle as if chronicling a trip abroad. An avian theme flutters throughout the works as does adage-bearing script. Text is applied with a heavier hand in Font Vase, where disassembled letters float on a neutral ceramic background.

Transitional Living Services exhibition

Exterior of the main Elements exhibit is the gallery’s ever-changing Wild Card show. Running until November 14th is the celebratory The Art of the Traditional Living Services. Traditional Living Services (TLS) is an organization that provides services and support to people with developmental disabilities, mental health issues, and brain injuries. It encourages its clients’ creativity while acclimating them to everyday life. The fruit of their artistic labor is what is currently on view.

With some items up for sale and others not, the exhibit offers a diverse collection of works in various forms of media. Graphite drawings, stained glass panels, watercolor paintings, and photographs are just some of the artworks produced not only by residents of TLS, but also by employees and others connected with the organization (which happens to be celebrating its 35 year anniversary).

Elizabeth Edinger’s Family Portrait appears as though it’s been ripped from the cover of a cherished childhood book. The illustration is bright, whimsical, and reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland.

This show recognizes the artistic capabilities of those who would not otherwise have the opportunity to showcase their art. It highlights the greater philanthropic project of TLS, while at the same time challenging preconceived notions of what constitutes art and who is an artist.

Delavan Art Gallery's Favorite Trickster

2009-10-28T10:58:00.002-04:00

Last weekend's Halloween Party at Delavan Art Gallery embodied all the treats promised, but one sole trickster managed to get his 'licks' in at the end of the evening.

Monty, Caroline's black lab/golden retriever mix and stalwart member of the office staff, chewed his way through two foil-wrapped packages, one containing a large piece of Halloween decorated cake and the other, several deliciously baked Italian cookies...all 'carefully put away' to give to the garage attendant on duty in a DAG staffer's condo complex. Moreover, the 'carefully put away' description and Monty's access to these treats defies logical thinking: Those two wrapped items were stored in the hollow of a collapsible witch's hat that was then placed in a plastic shopping bag, resting in the middle of the staffer's office desk. When Monty's deed was discovered, the plastic bag was found partially under the desk alongside the hat, and the shredded foil wrap scattered about. The upshot of the whole incident is twofold: Monty has wonderfully hygienic eating habits, for there was no trace of gooey cake frosting in the hat nor crumbs on the floor. Secondly, when returning home and into her parking garage, this staffer was able to expand on that old adage: "the dog ate my homework" saying instead to the person intended for the treats: "The dog ate your cake and cookies!"

**This shall remain anonymous so as not to alert the reader to the identity of the staffer whose practice it is to carry away refreshment left-overs with which to ply the parking attendent to get her a good space in the garage.

Bill Storm: A Letter to the Editor

2009-10-23T16:39:00.000-04:00

Bill Storm, a photographer and a current exhibitor in our show Visions, has written the following Letter to the Editor of the Post-Standard regarding Katherine Rushworth's review of September 27th. His letter is copied here in its entirety. We cannot say if it will be published by the Post-Standard, or, if it is published, whether and how the P-S will edit it, so this blog entry can both inform you and give you an unedited baseline. Also, feel free to comment by going to the bottom of this entry and clicking on comments.

-Bill Delavan, Director

**Note the letter that follows is Bill Storm's original letter, which he later shortened to fit within the Post-Standard's length limits for Letters to the Editor.

An Art Critic Fails Badly

Among the many things that fall into the domain of subjective criticism is the world of art. There is no membership required. Everyone and anyone who wishes to participate can join in with their opinions. That is part of the fun for the viewers and as well as the artists who are trying to convey through their work some expression of what is inside of them.

At a bit more formalized level, we have the interjection of the art critic.â These folks can provide a rallying point for individuals who may share a particular critic's sensibilities. Done well, the critic can be an educator and a motivating factor in any community to help promote the arts. So while one may or may not agree with the critics subjective views of some art, a positive dialog can be fostered that is stimulating and benefits all concerned.

Unfortunately, Post-Standard contributing writer Katherine Rushworth, in her September 27, 2009 review of the Delavan Art Gallery fell badly in reaching the level of a respected art critic. From the onset of the article it was blatantly clear that Rushworth had a personal agenda with the gallery and it wasn't a constructive one. Rushmore made it plain she did not like the manner in which the gallery operates. On that note she then let loose with lines laced with contempt that quickly lost any credibly in the context of her disturbing approach. Interestingly, her comments about the art appeared to pick up on earlier reviews (Nancy Keefe Rhodes, City Eagle, et al.) and turn positives into negatives.

Art helps reveal what is inside the artist. Writing can do the same. In this instance Rushmore's words spoke volumes about an animosity that had no place in the Post-Standard. The Delavan Art Gallery, all galleries and the community deserve better than this.
-Bill Storm

Fall/Halloween Party Sneak Peek!

2009-10-23T09:10:00.000-04:00

Here's a little sneak peek of the scarecrow that will be joining us at the Fall/Halloween party tonight at Delavan Art Gallery! Stop by between 6 and 9pm for lots of fun! (Admission $10 at the door, costumes optional)

City Eagle article by Nancy Keefe Rhodes

2009-10-21T08:47:00.000-04:00

Delavan Art Gallery would like to highlight the article written by Nancy Keefe Rhodes for the City Eagle newspaper. Published on September 17, this article takes a look at the Visions and Discoveries exhibitions that opened the season at the Delavan. Thanks Nancy! Click the link below for the article:

http://www.cnylink.com/cnyarts/view_news.php?news_id=1253207849

Fall/Halloween Party at Delavan Art Gallery!

2009-10-20T12:04:00.000-04:00

Please Join Delavan Art Gallery for

All Treats and No Tricks

at our Fall/Halloween Party!!

Featuring

jazz vocalist Marcia Rutledge

and guitarist Doug Robinson

Friday, October 23

6 to 9 PM

Admission $10 at the door

(Costumes optional)

Stop by to celebrate Halloween and the fall season with the staff at Delavan Art Gallery! We'll be in costume, and you're welcome to dress up or not, whatever you like. Our favorite musicians Marcia Rutledge and Doug Robinson will supply the entertainment, and we'll supply the light, non-alcoholic refreshments and hors d'oeuvres! Give us a call if you have any questions (315-425-7500). We hope to see you for a good time!

Christine Chansamone, Intern

2009-10-10T14:51:00.000-04:00

Hey! My name is Christine and I am an intern at the Delavan Art Gallery. My work with the gallery began in September of this year. I made my way to Syracuse, NY via an education at Syracuse University. Growing up in a lower middle class suburb of southern California, there weren’t any galleries or museums in the immediate area for me check out. The community did not support the arts, and the arts programs in school were severely under funded. When there’s something you can’t have, you want it all the more, and thus I came to SU to learn art and music history in the College of Arts and Sciences. During this time I began to learn about the subjects I had not been thoroughly exposed to. At SU I was able to attend frequent gallery exhibits, recitals and orchestral performances on and off campus. I began to imagine that if I could get some experience volunteering or interning at a gallery, museum or performance arts space, I could possibly make a career out of supporting the arts.

Upon graduating from SU in December, I began looking for opportunities in Syracuse to learn more about supportive roles for the arts. I gained a position in the Dean’s Office for the College of Visual and Performing Arts at SU where I have been able to make many contacts in the field and learn more about the arts community within Syracuse. My favorite part about Syracuse is how artistically rich the city is. There are so many artists and organizations working in this city, and so many opportunities to learn from them.

I have worked with TH3, Arts Covenant, Westcott Theatre and now the Delavan Art Gallery. This is the first exhibition space I have worked with. I have learned a tremendous amount from the awesome staff here in the short amount of time since I’ve come on board. I enjoy every minute spent here because I am constantly learning or being entertained by our conversations with the each other and the exhibiting artists.

I have had the opportunity to hang and light multiple exhibitions. The hands on experiences have been priceless. Bill and Caroline are an encouraging and patient team when it comes to teaching the interns how to properly hang and light exhibitions. They always make sure to let us know what rules to follow and what tricks to use.

It’s not all work here at the gallery though. Doggie breaks are always welcomed, and Monty, Caroline’s dog, is always sure to be cute and silly on call. We also welcome chocolate breaks. You are sure to always find some kind of cookie, cake or chocolate treat in the kitchen!

Everyone at the Delavan Art Gallery has been very warm and inviting. I feel as if I have known these people forever, and it only adds to the fun! For anyone thinking of interning with the gallery, I would highly recommend it. The experience is absolutely wonderful.

Independent Review of George Earle: A Retrospective

2009-10-09T16:43:00.001-04:00

George Earle: A Retrospective
Bonnie Rosenberg
October 8, 2009

The Delavan Art Gallery’s retrospective of George F. Earle comprehensively charts the progression of one artist’s style along with his diverse choice of subject matter. Hung chronologically, the show plots the trajectory of Earle’s long artistic life.

In the gallery’s Wild Card space, the viewer can see a bevy of 95-year-old Earle’s classically American paintings. Richly colored scenes of rural New York and beyond expose the viewer to the familiar yet striking. Earle abstracts nature with his highly linear style and inventive use of color.

In “The Bay in Fall,” a barrage of fluorescent yellows, oranges and reds are balanced by the cool, blue color palette that dominates the right half of the painting.

The crown jewel of the exhibit is Earle’s large scale “Clark Reservation.” This wooded vignette is laded with color, texture, and imagination. Each natural surface is treated with a different painting technique, the conglomeration of which amounts to a visually stunning painting. The large tree trunk that dominates the composition seems to come to life with its snake-like appearance – its white, red, blue, and yellow scales slink across the painting. Globs of paint jet out from the canvas as they intersperse with the swirls of color that upon closer inspection come to resemble Van Gogh’s undulating brushstrokes.

Although the show consists chiefly of landscapes, it also highlights Earle’s foray into portraiture. “Mexican Caretaker” features the stern likeness of the artist’s former maid in Mexico. Drawing his color palette from the terra cotta bowls that rest beside the sitter, the painting becomes a study in pink, red, and burnt orange.

Earle’s overall command of technique is evident in this exhibition. His “Leadville, CO” looks like an Impressionistic view of a rural, Rocky Mountain town. Wisps of greens, teals, and cream define the lush background, as stark buildings exist in the foreground. At the same time, “Water Under the Bridge” is highly abstracted. Save for the suggestion of a dock at the bottom left corner of the canvas, the work appears to be an organic string of blue and white lines that twist like puffs of smoke.

Each painting in the collection offers insight into the artist’s skill. As agreeable as the paintings are themselves, perhaps the greater attraction is the clear delineation of an artist’s entire career. It is varied and vibrant.

George Earle: A Retrospective

2009-10-09T15:48:00.005-04:00

Wild Card

George Earle: A Retrospective
(October 8 - October 31)

George F. Earle is 95 years old and still painting with the same passion for his craft that emerged when producing his first oil painting at age eight. Delavan Art Gallery is pleased to honor this accomplished artist and his creative legacy through a retrospective curated by his family. The display in the gallery’s Wild Card space opens with a reception from 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm on Thursday, October 8, and remains up through Saturday, October 31.

Throughout George Earle’s adventurous life, he has managed to combine his love of painting with his passion for skiing and urge to write. In his early years growing up in New Bedford, MA, the pursuit of artistic studies coupled with the desire to experience better snow conditions brought him to Syracuse University to the undergraduate art school that remains one of the oldest in the country, and to the hills of Upstate New York that allowed him plenty of opportunity to ‘hit the slopes.’

Back then, Earle started the University’s first ski team, and many years later, he would return to that campus to teach design and art history before moving on to SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, School of Landscape Architecture where he now holds the title of Professor Emeritus.

During the years between 1933 and today, Earle traveled an exciting journey. In 1937, he was awarded a Tiffany Foundation Fellowship and spent the next year painting in Mexico. In 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor, Earle interrupted his advanced studies at Yale to enlist in the army, where for four years he served as an instructor and coach of the great 1944 10th Mountain Division ski team. After the war, he returned to SU to teach art and direct what was, at the time, the largest ski school in the country.

Throughout his journeys, Earle continued to paint whatever subject was at hand and would later publish books visually documenting his adventures, both with palette and written words. In The Road Less Traveled, Earle recounts his escapades in Mexico, while Birth of a Division takes the reader through the first operation that established the 10th Mountain Division as an important part of the U. S. military force that remains so today.

Following are the artist’s comments on three of the paintings included in Delavan’s display. Of “Mexican Caretaker,” Earle says: “In Mexico, I rented a small house complete with a maid who slept on the front step and did my cooking and laundry. It is among the many paintings I sent home that year.” He says “Water Under The Bridge” was painted in New England and adds, “the stream crossing, dark with pine trees, shows the complicated patterns of water in it’s eddies and turns.”

The painting, “Clark Reservation” was done first as a quick sketch to show his Landscape Architecture class ‘a few tricks’ when brought there to paint from the reservation’s natural scenes. “Later, I enlarged and developed the sketch,” Earle says. “I was particularly interested in the snake like tree trunks and beams of light through the trees.”

The End of One-Way Journalism: Reviewing the Reviewer

2009-09-30T21:44:00.010-04:00

Sept 30, 2009

(Note: this is kinda long – feel free to skip down to the “Response to the Review “ section. We also encourage you to leave a comment on your thoughts about this or future posts by clicking on the Comments link at the end of the post, in this case, after the words "stay tuned".)

I INTRODUCTION

Art Reviews of shows and venues are important to the life of artists, museums and galleries. They are frequently the only point of contact between an artist, gallery or museum and the non-artist public, which means most everybody but the small group of active art goers.

At the beginning of this exhibit, prior to any other reviews, we initiated a program to have Independent Reviews of our shows because we perceived an urgent need for more reviews (and hence more reviewers) of the visual arts scene in general and of our shows in particular. We hired Bonnie Rosenberg, a graduate student in the Goldring Arts Journalism Program at SU, to write ongoing independent reviews of our shows. The deal is this: We pay her for her time to view shows and write reviews, which we will then publish on our website and blog regardless of what she writes. We will check the review only for factual matters, not evaluative or interpretative content. We posted her first review of Visions on our website and blog (delavanartgallery.blogspot.com) on Friday, September 11. We, of course, reserve the right to comment on her review, as she has the right to comment on our comments.

Up to now the review situation has been characterized by One-Way Journalism. If an art critic decides to do a review of a venue’s show, he or she comes, writes a review and publishes it on a schedule convenient to them. For all practical purposes there is no possibility of a publicly viewable response – certainly not one which is timely or in the same part of the newspaper in which the review first appeared. At best, any response would appear, unedited, the following week, in the same section as the original piece of writing. But that “at best” doesn’t happen. A Letter to the Editor, if it is published at all, will generally be placed in the op-ed section and will generally be cut in overall length or heavily edited. (In one non-art related case I’ve had a “Letter to the Editor” held up for over a month, then edited with changes in paragraphing, sentence structure and tense to the point that the final result made me look incoherent).

Ideally the resolution to the problem of One-Way Journalism would be to have the review done earlier and then made available to the artists and venue being reviewed so that they could make their comments. Then the whole ensemble, the original review and the comments, would be published at the same time in the same space. The newspapers may not have the time, inclination or space (ink), but this would be a valuable asset to the community.

So, we are forced to do it ourselves. However, with the internet, a whole new dimension of communication has opened up. It is possible not only to post writings and responses to them, but also to make public comments regarding those writings. This opens up the process to interactivity – i.e. posting of an original writing, a response(s), then response(s) to the responses etc. So, who can respond? Anybody: gallery staff, artists who have been reviewed, other artists, the general public—even the art critics being themselves reviewed. The next section of this writing is our response to the Katherine Rushworth’s recent review in the Post-Standard.

II RESPONSE TO THE REVIEW

The review of our show Visions by Katherine Rushworth appeared in this past Sunday’s Stars section of the Post-Standard (Sept 27, 2009). For your convenience we’d like to post the entire review here on this blog, but that would probably violate copyright law. As a second option we’d like to provide a convenient link to the review, but so far have been unable to find it posted on the Post-Standard’s website Syracuse.com.

We’re therefore left with the challenge and necessity of commenting on a piece of writing that we are unable to provide here in its entirety. So here goes.

IN GENERAL

In the second paragraph of the review Rushworth, who will be referred to as the “Art Critic” from here on, said “There’s little unifying the works thematically…but that really doesn’t matter. Each artist demonstrates some degree of vision and all three prove to be at least competent in their respective media”. How can the term Visions not be inclusive in a visual arts show? Does not every artist have a vision? Then, her use of the term “at least competent…” displays, in my opinion, the grudging acknowledgment of the quality work shown here, but put in the least appealing terms. I think it indicates an upfront bias against either the artists in question, or, more probably, against the Delavan Art Gallery. For the record, these four artists are very competent and deserve more than a grudging nod to their abilities.

TANYA KIROUAC

Next, the Art Critic states that Toronto artist, Tanya Kirouac, has a solid command of encaustic painting, but (and now comes the negative) she “limits her subject matter to the point of redundancy.” The Art Critic goes on to say: “This may not be entirely Kirouac’s fault, but the consequences of the specific works show organizers chose. But that’s always the risk an artist faces when the gallery assists in the selection of work”. In both a discussion with the Art Critic at the end of her review time at the gallery, and in an e-mail on the subject when she sought clarification, we made it very clear that we, the gallery staff, pick the artists to be exhibited, the timing of an exhibit and the selection of an artist’s art work*. While we certainly encourage input from artists during the selection process, selection is our responsibility. That said, I am quite proud of our selection of work by the four artists, including Tanya Kirouac’s – as well as the selection of over 165 artists and their artwork over the past six+ years. In this case I have re-examined the five pieces the Art Critic listed and found them to be sufficiently different to be shown together – they provide variation within an internal “unity of theme” that in other contexts the Art Critic seems to like.

BILL STORM

She states: “But in other images, in which he ratchets up the color to high-octane levels, he seems to have lost his aesthetic sense and is playing with color (and digital toys) simply for the sake of playing with color. In Primeval #12 and #8, the color seems manipulated and does not enhance the natural landscape he’s using as subject matter. I’d rather Storm went over the top in to the realm of the impossible, as in Primeval #2, #7 and #1, than not be fully committed.”

Most photography today has moved from film to digital, and therefore goes through a computer. The “digital toys” to which the Art Critic refers, are, when more respectfully considered, the photographer’s tools to be used by the photographic artist as a painter uses paint brushes and paint. The skill and judgment with which the photographic artist uses a computer determines whether the output is good or bad art. It is fair to criticize a photographer’s use of the digital tool box, but the Art Critic has here stipulated an interesting criterion which is that changes in color (which she derogatorily refers to as manipulation) must enhance the natural landscape. Further, she has criticized the artist for manipulating images, but then suggests that he should do more of it.

PHIL PARSONS

The Art Critic made a generally favorable comment of this excellent oil painter’s work, but she felt the placement of one of the buildings interfered with the natural composition. OK, so he has twelve marvelous paintings on display, and she takes her limited space to dis one painting she didn’t like.

BARBARA STOUT

An all too brief description of the watercolors and ink pieces by a fine artist.

OVERALL

More space given to Barbara Stout, and less to uninformed speculation/projection about the selection process would have made a much better review. Also, the pejorative reference to the artists as being “at least competent” was unhelpful to a reader wanting to find out about the exhibit.

I invite the reading public to visit the gallery and see for yourselves the show of the four artists’ work, and the accuracy of the Art Critic’s review. One note: Tanya Kirouac’s work is only up for three more days – Friday, October 2 (noon – 6:00 PM0 and Saturday, October 3 (10:00 AM – 4:00 PM).

-Bill Delavan, Director

* Note: Only in some special circumstances such as elementary school shows, retrospectives and some of the group shows, do we not select the artwork.

Final note: Caroline Szozda McGowan, Gallery Manager, will shortly be posting her comments on Katherine Rushworth’s review on the blog and other reviewed artists may also be posting. Stay tuned.

Visions and Discoveries

2009-09-12T11:07:00.010-04:00

Feature Exhibition:

Visions

(September 10-October 24)

A collection of works by three artists, including paintings by Phil Parsons, photography by Bill Storm, and ink drawings by Barbara Stout is the featured exhibition heralding the start of the new season at Delavan Art Gallery. Visions opens September 10 with a public reception that night from 5:00-8:00 PM.

Phil Parsons, a graduate of The School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA, is a nationally published decorative artist who works with interior designers and clients throughout New York. His current collection of paintings at Delavan, however, points to pride of his families' roots in Syracuse and appreciation for the city's rural surroundings of small towns, farms and countryside fields. Under the title, Roadside, Parsons says, "I wanted to capture those ragged woods, matted fields and old homesteads." The works represent over two years of work, altered in his perception of viewing the subject matter following the passing of a family member. He says, "In death, everything seems fleeting. I needed a record, a reminder for my children and myself. This is where we live." While Parsons' pieces are painted in a realistic style, he explains, "I have felt free to change the landscape, repaint barns, and invent skies to reflect my feelings."

Bill Storm, influenced from his early professional background as musician, recording engineer and producer, says his show titled, Primeval, is the outgrowth of a lifetime fascination for expressing emotions and ideas through artistic media, be it sound or visual, that "makes me want to stop and look or listen." Storm says he discovered his love for fine art photography while at Syracuse University where his musical experience earned him positions both as a Director of the Belfer Audio Laboratory and Archive and as an instructor in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. He says that his good fortune of having worked with a host of noted recording artists in his previous career, along with appreciation for works by masters studied in his new endeavor, helped him to 'see in single images the wonderful sensory impact associated with great musicians playing on great recordings.' Thus his fine art approach and straightforward goal of "creating images that trigger imagination."

Gods, Beasts, and Mortals is the title Barbara Stout says best describes her ink drawings included in Visions, citing that only a few are clearly or vaguely human, and the rest, animal or beast-like or in the deity category. The artist, whose strongest influences come from primitive art, signs and symbols from numerous cultures, as well as from psychology and social relationships, says that in her creations she is looking for a resonance with the raw experience of love... "its vulnerability, openness, heightened awareness, abandon and beauty." She feels that these explorations "have their own rules that translate a poetic truth rather than a literal rendering." Thus Stout describes her paintings as becoming like a jazz improvisation, exposing the history and beauty of freedom where in her painted worlds "a beast can buy a car, Jesus can leave the high and mighty, wings can appear in unexpected places, and somewhere a new set of wings are sprouting.'

Wild Card Exhibition:
Discoveries
(September 10-October 3)
Encaustics by Tanya Kirouac

Reaching beyond US borders, Delavan Art Gallery is pleased to present Discoveries, an exhibition that celebrates the engaging talents of an encaustic painter who hails from Toronto, Ontario. The artist describes the term encaustic, derived from the Greek word 'enkaustikos' meaning "to heat" or "to burn," as a technique that uses wax in a process involving heat to apply the medium and secure it. Composed of beeswax or microcrystalline wax, damar resin and pigments, the term is often used to describe both the paint itself and the method for using it.

In her artist statement, Kirouac explains, "I am an encaustic painter, deeply rooted in the visual language of landscapes and the natural world. Similar to the way nature builds up and washes away what it creates, I apply and remove layers of wax. Possibilities, which had yet to be discovered rise and make themselves apparent. This process allows me to develop complex images in relief." She continues, "Encaustic has an inherent opacity. This quality creates transparency, which mirrors the fragility of our world. These transparencies give the completed works an almost dreamlike finish - a reminder of the possibility that the objects of my inspiration can be fleeting and might one day exist only in my memory."

Independent Critic Review Program

2009-09-12T10:44:00.031-04:00

September 11, 2009

Dear Patrons and Artists,

Delavan Art Gallery takes pride in celebrating the creativity of artists shown here. To further that end, we also strongly believe that a review of each exhibition is important, not only in response to artists' efforts to avail their works for public view, but also to give viewers another dimension through which to enhance their appreciation and enjoyment of what they see. However, there are too few media reviewers and/or reviews to cover the large number of visual art exhibits that take place in this area.

To address this situation, we are beginning a new program of having independent critiques of our shows, beginning with our current exhibitions. Here's how it will work:
--We will pay the independent critic for her/his time for coming to the gallery and writing a critique. We will review the critique for factual matter only prior to posting to our e-mail list and blog. We will not change interpretative, evaluative, or other matters of content. The independent critic is free to write what she/he wishes without fear of editing. On the e-mail posting, following the critique, we may choose to post our comments regarding the critique, and on the blog we may likewise post comments along with other readers, which may include the artists being reviewed. Thus this new program, through the blog, allows interactivity between critic, gallery, artist and viewer which only the internet enables.

To begin the program we are proud to announce that Bonnie Rosenberg has been selected as Delavan Art Gallery's first independent critic. Bonnie is currently a graduate student at Syracuse University's S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications where she is receiving her masters in Arts Journalism as part of the school's Goldring Program. Prior to coming to Syracuse, Bonnie graduated from Saint Louis University where she earned a dual Bachelor's degree in Art History and English Literature and also held two competitive internships, one as the Family Program intern at St. Louise Art Museum and the other as curator of her own exhibit in the Historic Samuel Cupples House on campus.

This reviewer's interest in the visual arts was ignited by her hometown Chicago, and as she says, "persists in Central New York where I will be an imbedded critic for Delavan Art Gallery and connoisseur of the Syracuse art scene at large." Bonnie adds, "In my efforts, I hope to create an on-going dialogue among artists and the public."

What follows are Bonnie Rosenberg's comments on Delavan Art Gallery's 50th Show opening our new season: our main exhibition titled Visions and the gallery's Wild Card Show, Discoveries.

Our thanks and congratulations to artists participating in these exhibitions and to Bonnie for coming to the opening to view them. We also wish to extend an invitation to the public to visit here during the shows runs and join with us in applauding the creativity that permeates throughout Central New York and beyond.

Sincerely,

Bill Delavan
Gallery Director

Visions Exhibit Opens New Season at the Delavan

Bonnie Rosenberg
September 7, 2009

Artists have the ability to create their own version of reality. They can purge a bad memory with the sweep of a brush or create an alternate one with the click of a camera.

In the Delavan Art Gallery's September exhibit, Visions, four artists - Phil Parsons, Bill Storm, Barbara Stout and Tanya Kirouac - present their art as it derives and deviates from reality. This show highlights the power of artistic license and its ability to manifest differently in artists.

This exhibit provides more than aesthetic appeal. It provokes thought and calls into question the notion of truth in art. If Keats was right, and beauty really is synonymous with truth, then the Delavan has found the key to artistic veracity.

Bill Storm's show Primeval presents nature through lenses both abstract and straight. His black and white photographs depict beautiful natural scenes that glorify what remains of the great American landscape. Storm's color photos are less representational and transform nature into amorphous studies in color, texture and composition. In Primeval #3, streams of brilliant blood red weave around chunks of earth. Detached from its original context, this photo takes on a sinister feeling - adopting overtones of violence and rage.

By cropping nature and applying color, Storm distorts reality and constructs his own landscape. His view of nature evokes an immediate visceral response from its audience, a reaction that is aligned with the prehistoric title of the collection.

The adjacent exhibit, Roadside, by Phil Parsons explores the landscapes of the greater Syracuse area. Parson's scenes are inspired by Central New York's rural vistas, but were composed in his imagination. Farms, winding roads and emotive skies mark these serene paintings.

The muddy color palette that characterizes these works is sporadically disrupted by leavening strokes of yellow and white. These small dots of color are welcome in a painted world where browns and tans prevail. In Howlett Hill Moon a single smudge of pale orange illuminates a path to the painting's apex.

The rurality of these paintings appropriately follows in the tradition of Hudson River School artists. Parsons artworks serve as records of his life's events in New York. Each canvas represents a memory, albeit a manufactured one.

In her ink and watercolor drawings, fellow exhibitor Barbara Stout reveals a personal iconography that is influenced by primitive art and mythic figures, but ultimately stems from her imagination. The images in her Gods, Beasts, and Mortals show are whimsical, cartoonish and rooted in the mystical.Tendrils of black ink race across all of the pieces in a modern Art Nouveau style. At times they loosely resemble humans, but most often they outline invented figures. In the same vein as Paul Klee, these works seem to point to a deeper meaning with their imbedded symbols, but the significance is unknown to the viewer.

Because of their indecipherable subject matter, these works largely fall into the realm of quaint decorative pieces. Ooh La La, a red, white and black drawing, leans so far toward farce that it is divorced from its purported historical foundations. Any spiritual bridge is broken by Stout's recurrent use of handlebar mustache motifs and her frivolous approach to substantial subjects like love.

The gallery's Wild Card Show is comprised of works by encaustic painter, Tanya Kirouac. In Discoveries plant life images are shaped from many layers of wax and pigment. The artworks seem to radiate warmth as rich shades of hazel green, violet and maroon coalesce on the panels.

Bold vermilion flowers abound in big red, one of her larger paintings. Reminiscent of Cy Twombly's floral paintings, the work features loosely formed, free-floating flowers. In the background, shades of yellow melt into pools of orange and cream.

Like the other paintings in the collection, this work draws in the viewer with its accessibility. With surface textures that look like malleable wood, autumnal colors and inviting titles like serenity and passing day, this collection practically demands enjoyment of the viewer and is all too willing to supply the fodder for easy artistic consumption.

Visions runs from Sept. 10 - Oct. 24, and Discoveries runs from Sept. 10 - Oct. 3. These exhibitions are harbingers of good things to come from the Delavan this fall.

Tiki Bar

2009-07-17T15:43:00.012-04:00

Tiki Bar? Many people have been asking, why would the Delavan Art Gallery need a tiki bar? Well, many reasons. Tiki bars are this summers new must own item. P-Diddy, Justin Timberlake, and Brittany Spears all have invested millions of dollars to have their own tiki bars. Bill was at home watching MTV Cribs when he realized that he must have one, too. The next day he proposed the idea to Reggie and believe it or not, Reggie was thinking the same thing.

That day Reggie began drawing up blue prints for the estimated 1.3 million dollar tiki bar and began construction. Katie and Lacey then put the finishing touches on the bar and now it is ready to serve all. But then Bill had another problem, who is he going to serve? Then another brilliant idea struck Bill, a luau! Of course every tiki bar needs to be opened with a killer luau.

Everything written above was all in the mind of one of our wonderful interns, Ryan Petrus. What really happened was this: Staff had begun planning to close out the end of the current season with a great party. While brainstorming themes and ideas for the event, everyone came up with the idea of a luau. It also helped that the Gallery Manager Caroline had spent last summer living in Hawaii so she had a few ideas up her sleeve for all the amenities. Director Bill was away on vacation at the time, so the staff ran with different wild ideas on their own. They came up with so many of these, Bill couldn't help but go along with the whole plan when he got back.

Now every luau needs its own tiki bar. So where to find a tiki bar? Any of those we came across that looked anywhere near decent were at least $1000 and there was no way Bill was going to let us spend that much on something we may only use once. We asked around and no one had one that we could borrow or even rent. We were running out of options when we had another brainstorm. The amazing Reggie, who does so much at Delavan Center and Delavan Art Gallery, might be able to make us one. Caroline approached him and humbly asked, "Could you make us a tiki bar?" Reggie's response was, "What's a tiki bar and what does it look like?" Staff sprang into action and looked up some pictures for him and found a few rough plans to give him an idea of the look and measurements of the bar, and next thing we know, he's creating us our very own tiki bar. Only using the measurements for the height and width of the bar, Reggie had the rest all planned out in his head.

Just about everyone has had a hand in the creation of our tiki bar. Its coming together nicely and we will post progress pictures of it's creation and evolution soon.

The staff of Delavan Art Gallery

P.S. We are already working on ideas for future uses for our tiki bar.

We Have a Nurse in the House

2009-06-12T10:56:00.009-04:00

I have lived in Syracuse for four years this summer, and I can still remember meeting my neighbor, who is an artist. She, Lew Graham, talked about her studio at Delavan Center and how much she loved her space and her landlord, Bill Delavan who is also the Director of the Delavan Art Gallery. She kept telling me that I had to stop by and see the place. Well, it took me almost three years to discover the gallery.

First of all, I have to say that for the past 26 years, I have been moving all over the world, following my military husband. Initially, I worked as a Practical Nurse and later discovered there is more to life than medicine. I took classes at varying colleges as we moved 15 times over the years. When my husband retired and promised we wouldn’t move any more, I pooled all my credits together to find I was very close to earning my BA. Majoring in Art History and graduating from SU took up most of my time. However, I did acquire some experience in the art world before applying to the gallery.

Working as an intern and afterwards, a full time volunteer at the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse, gave me a wealth of experience. Also in the summer of 2007, I worked as an intern at the Albany Institute of History and Art with the Registrar in collections. I never forgot about the Delavan Art Gallery though. So, I took a chance and applied and was offered a volunteer position. I’ve been here since the middle of January of this year.

Lew was right about the personnel here. Everyone is very warm and welcoming. It didn’t take me long to feel like one of the gallery crew. The gallery manager, Caroline, put me right to work from small jobs, like watering plants, dusting pedestals, and answering phones, to hanging labels, climbing ladders for lighting, and most importantly, hanging artwork for the opening exhibits.

I look forward to getting ready for the openings the most. It entails meeting the artists and learning about the art they are submitting to the show, which I think, gives some history to the art. Helping to de-install a past exhibit then installing the new art, along with the opening reception is a lot of fun. It’s almost like changing the décor in your house and inviting everyone over for a party to celebrate the new look!

Another treat is working with the interns who are still students at area colleges. They have fresh ideas, love to work hard and have their artistic biases. The first intern I ever worked with was Kari, who majors in photography. She taught me a lot about different styles of photography and particularly wanted to hang all of the photography work that we have in the gallery. Ryan, who also majors in photography, looks at the world through the camera lens, which has become very contagious for me.

It’s also funny how my past experiences have merged with the present. At times, when Gloria, the PR Coordinator is feeling under the weather, or when Caroline tries to take off her finger with a cutting knife, or when Kari’s shoes are digging into her heels, or when Reggie, the “Very Handy Man” gets a large piece of lumber stuck in his hand and calls it a splinter, somehow, they tend to make me feel special in calling me for some medical advice or better, medical treatment.
Lew has since moved south to live near her family.

Lew, if you are reading this blog, you were right and thanks for the encouragement!

-Kathy Simpson, Gallery Volunteer

(Left: Ryan Petrus, Right: Kathy Simpson)

Return to Delavan

2009-06-12T10:52:00.011-04:00

(Left: Ryan Petrus, Right: Kathy Simpson)

Hello everyone, my name is Ryan Petrus and I am the new intern here at the Delavan for this summer. I just finished my senior year at SUNY Purchase where I majored in photography, but I have to return next semester to finish up two required classes. My goal for next year is to return to the NYC and find a job working in either a gallery or assisting an advertising photographer. For the future, I plan to take some time to travel and work, to pay off student loans and then eventually return to school to get my MFA.

I am really no stranger to the Delavan. I have been making work in this building for years in my teacher’s studio and have been a regular visitor to the gallery since I was in high school. I originally attended Onondaga Community College for my first two years of college. Working here is nice because I get to see a lot of my old teachers’ art hanging in the gallery and see them stop in from time to time.

Since I started interning here, I have had the experience to travel out to two of our artist’s houses to pick out work for our upcoming show. I have learned how to properly hang and display artwork in a gallery setting, along with properly wrapping and organizing the art we keep in storage. Caroline, Delavan’s gallery manager, has showed me how to use the software Masterpiece to keep all of our art organized. Reggie, the man who keeps this place standing, has showed me how to maintain a gallery and the actual amount of work it takes to keep it running and working properly. Working at the Delavan and having the experience to meet other artists has enlightened me on how a gallery works and functions. I have made a lot of friends and met a bunch of artists who have made this experience fun and influential.

Fusion Exhibition

2009-05-13T18:20:00.010-04:00

Delavan Art Gallery is proud to present the Fusion exhibition, on view through June 13. We hosted a reception on May 7 to celebrate the show, see some of the images below. Be sure to stop by the gallery to see this colorful exhibition!

(Above: The four exhibition artists - Catharine Westlake, John Fitzsimmons, Pam Steele, and Diana Gofrey)

(Bill Delavan with Joyce Day Homan)

(Bill Delavan with one of John Fitzsimmons's pieces)

(Visitors taking in the exhibition)

(The hard-working ladies of Delavan Art Gallery)

Fiber Art

2009-05-13T18:00:00.009-04:00

On March 12 Delavan Art Gallery hosted a great reception to celebrate our Fiber Art exhibition. Check out the images below of some of the artists with their work!

(Above: Lauren Bristol and Sharon Bottle Souva)

(Wilson Akuamoah-Boateng)

(Linda Esterley)

(Barbara Conte-Gaugel)

Ceramics by Carles Vives

2009-03-25T09:50:00.003-04:00

Remember to stop by this week and check out our Wild Card exhibition "Ceramics by Carles Vives"! Delavan Art Gallery is one of two outside venues chosen to exhibit selections of works by Carles Vives, on loan from Onondaga Community College where the ceramicist recently completed a residency. “Ceramics by Carles Vives” runs through this Saturday, March 28 at the Delavan, concurrent with a similar display featured on loan at the Everson Museum.

In the interest of a cultural exchange, Vives was invited here by OCC art professor Andy Schuster to do workshops and an exhibit at The Gallery at Ann Felton Multicultural Center. Schuster and Vives are long-time friends who once shared a studio in Spain. From his home in Catalonia, Vives traveled to the United States for the first time and set to work with OCC students, redoing and firing his architectural and sculptural pieces influenced by the different environment of their world. The artist says that some of the work he created here in February reflects Syracuse’s nature, especially winter tree branches.

With regard to community outreach, Professor Schuster planned to give more of the public the opportunity to view and experience Vives’ multiple talents before his show ends at the college in mid-April. “Doing a show at the Delavan Art Gallery was a likely choice,” he says. “Bill Delavan is known for his untiring efforts to enrich the community. His art gallery, readily accessible to the public, is home to many regional artists and their diverse works of high quality art.”

Bill Delavan says of his gallery’s Wild Card show: “The Delavan Art Gallery, along with the Everson Museum of Art, is honored to host “Ceramics by Carles Vives.”

Gallery hours this week are Thursday and Friday, noon-6pm, and Saturday 10am-4pm. Stop by and see this stunning exhibition!

Interning at the Delavan

2009-03-24T11:06:00.002-04:00

Before I begin to rave about my internship experience at the Delavan a little background information will be helpful. My name is Kari O'Mara and I am a Studio Arts,with a Specialization in Photography, major with minors in English and Art History at Cazenovia College and I am in my Junior year. Last semester I began hunting for an internship site for the spring semester. I over heard my professor, Anita Welych, talking with another student about an internship opportunity with the Delavan. The other student did not seem very interested but how Anita was describing the Delavan it seemed very interesting and fun. I hounded Anita until she got me in communication with Caroline, the gallery manager at the Delavan. After email transactions and an interview I became the new intern at the Delavan.

I'll admit I was unsure what I had gotten myself into. I had visited galleries before, mainly photographic exhibits, but what it was going to be like to intern for a gallery I had no idea. Naturally I was nervous before I started and looking back now it seems silly because interns are not welcomed to the Delavan with basic training and gradual acceptance; interns are pulled right into the Delvan experience with open arms and a vast supply of sugary sweets. While Caroline made sure she did not give me tasks in which I was in over my head or overwhelmed, she would give me a task, make sure I understood, and then she would let me at it and feel confident in my abilities to continue on unsupervised and I greatly appreciated that. It is odd to be writing about my experience as an intern because honestly I do not feel like an intern at all, because at this gallery tasks are assigned and done by all, everyone puts in the same amount of hard work, and every one's ideas are written down and stored away for the perfect time.

Listening to the other internship experiences of my classmates I am confident that interning at the Delavan was the best place I could have picked. I have been able to talk with amazing and highly creative artists, I have been able to put my artistic insight to use,and I have been able to walk into a gallery and see all of the hard work that is put into a show come together and see how people react to it.

The task that I have enjoyed the most at the Delavan would be deciding and hanging art in the gallery. That task, while enjoyable, is also frustrating, tiring, and humbling. One day I was left alone for two hours before Kathy, a gallery volunteer, arrived to help with this simple task "redo the continuing artists section". Sounds easy? Oh boy. Kathy and I worked for four hours trying and hanging pieces. There were sections we had done that we loved and sections we were not so fond of. When I came back two days later wondering the final outcome of our work I was delighted to see the section I was the happiest with remained, for the most part, the same. But it is a lesson of working in a gallery that not everything you do is enjoyed by all and some of what Kathy and I had done had been changed or removed. I learned that lesson early on at the Delavan and realized not the take it personally but there are still times when you are disappointed with changes to your ideas.

Overall and by far, I am so happy and content with my experience at the Delavan. And although my merger ideas of what interning at a gallery was going to be like were squashed, they were replaced by great, odd, and fun experiences. And I will never forget how silly and wonderful the staff at the Delavan is, even when they are trying to force feed me everything edible they have stocked.

-Kari O'Mara, Gallery Intern

Delavan Art Gallery Welcomes New Staff

2009-03-02T18:31:00.010-05:00

Delavan Art Gallery in downtown Syracuse welcomed two new additions to the gallery staff in January. Jessica Heckman was named Marketing Coordinator and Gloria Romeo assumed the position of Public Relations Coordinator, formerly held by Courtney Rile.

Jessica Heckman received her BA in Corporate Communications from Lycoming College in Williamsport, PA, and her MS in Public Relations from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. She is currently the Promotions Coordinator for Light Work, a non-profit photography organization located at Syracuse University, as well as the Marketing Coordinator for Delavan Art Gallery. She has managed her own business, and completed internships in both the Publicity department of a prominent London publishing company and the Media Relations department of MSNBC.

Gloria Romeo has long been active in the arts and regional community relations. Director of the "On My Own Time" visual arts program that introduces and celebrates artists employed in the area's work force and is produced annually by Cultural Resources Council and the Everson Museum of Art. Romeo is a recipient of the Post-Standard Achievement Award for Cultural Development. She continues to manage her own consulting business in Public Relations and Special Events and has worked with Central New York Chambers of Commerce to create and coordinatre seasonal events. Romeo serves on Armory Square Association's Board of Directors and coordinates the Association's annual Candlelight Series.

'Feel Lucky' on Friday the 13th Event

2009-03-02T18:18:00.007-05:00

Delavan Art Gallery invited the public to dispel the bad-luck myth of Friday the 13th by joining us for a program of Songbook hits by Jazz vocalist Marcia Rutledge, accompanied by the intimate guitar sounds of Doug Robinson.

Based in Syracuse NY, Marcia Rutledge is a recording artist who has performed throughout Central New York for some 15 years with swing, accappella and jazz ensembles in a wide range of venues. Nominated three times for Syracuse Area Music Awards (SAMMY), she includes in her repertoire a select list of jazz and pop standards, blues, and R&B tunes, along with original songs she has composed with longtime musical associate, David Solazzo. Her interpretation of the Great American Songbook is enhanced by song selections from the 70's pop era.

When asked about her career in music thus far, Ms Rutledge replied, "I sing what I like. It usually strikes a sympathetic chord in my listening audience, since beautiful, sincerely interpreted songs are what we are all about. Music is constantly available to all of us now, electronically, but live music will always have a special place."

For accompaniment at her Delavan Art Gallery gig, Rutledge chose the intimate sounds of guitarist Doug Robinson, a musician, vocalist and producer whose extensive talents include touring and recordings with British guitar legend Martin Simpson, a multi-year stint as a staff musician at the famous "Festival D'Ete World Music Festival in Quebec City, Canada, European tours and Carnegie Hall appearances with Jazz trumpeter Johnny Russo and his East Hill Classic Jazz Group.

Paintings by Kwangpyo (Steve) Koh

2009-03-02T18:13:00.002-05:00

Above: (Left) Koh - Afternoon, (Right) Koh - Birth & Son

Born on Jeju Island, South Korea, Kwangpyo (Steve) Koh shares some of his heritage in his paintings that reflect the 'Integration of human life and historical space through time.'

"Paintings by Kwangpyo (Steve) Koh" opened in Delavan Art Gallery's Wild Card space on February 12 and ran through February 28.

In his background bio, Koh tells the story of Jeju Island's one thousand year old black stone statue called Dol-hareubang or Grandfather Stone that is carved out of porous basalt rock. One of the best known symbols of the Island, the statue of bulging eyes, long flat nose, clenched lips and big hands resting on the belly illustrate the simple and humorous nature of people. Koh describes that inspiration to "bring the historic aesthetic of the stone carving to my life subjects."

"As an architect, I work with designs of all kinds of space form for one to experience the relationship between human life and place through time. I try to interpret how the past relates to the present," he says. His bright, colorful paintings feature the human figure with a variety of facial expressions, posed before venues of space that represent all moments or actions of life.

Stone Canoe 3 Exhibition

2009-03-02T18:06:00.003-05:00

For the third consecutive year, Delavan Art Gallery hosted the Stone Canoe visual arts exhibit that brings to the Syracuse site a diverse array of works produced by regional artists and those beyond who otherwise have a distinct tie to Upstate New York.

The Stone Canoe 3 exhibit opened on Thursday, January 22 and ran through February 28. The exhibition significantly coincided with the third annual edition of the prestigious Stone Canoe Journal, a diverse collection of arts and ideas published by Syracuse University to promote "the cultural and intellectual richness that characterizes life in Upstate New York."

Gail Hoffman, Journal Visual Arts Editor and show Curator said: "What is striking about this diverse group of well-known, established and emerging artists is their depth of voice, vision, and their ability to surprise, evoking a sense of place that is unique to Upstate New York in images of local landscapes, towns, and people caught in familiar seasonal cycles." Robert Colley, Journal Editor adds, "It is deeply satisfying to see all of this work come together as collective proof of the creative spirit that is nurtured within, or touched by, our region."

Delavan Art Gallery Director Bill Delavan said, "The opportunity to host Stone Canoe extends the Gallery's own mission to celebrate noted regional artists and introduce new ones."

Among the artists featured were: Marianne Barcellona, Marty Blake, Lauren Bristol, Elaine R. Defibaugh, Sylvia de Swaan, Donna L. Emerson, Paul Farinacci, Lisbeth Firmin, John Fitzsimmons, Emily Fleisher, Bob Gates, Jon Gernon, Thomas Gokey, Fred Gonyea, Erica Harney and Aldo Lira. Also, David R. MacDonald, Jennifer Marsh, Lalit K. Masih, Deloss McGraw, Rebecca Murtaugh, Mary Nelson Zadrozny, Steven Pearlman, Stephan Phillips, Awenheeyoh Powless, Mark Robbins, Roger Shimomura, Nancy Sirkis, Yolanda Tooley, Gary Trento, Kim Waale, and Phil Young.

Image information: (Left) Stone Canoe 3 cover, (Right) Lalit K. Masih, "Ramp Cafe"

Shadows Exhibit Opens Dec. 4

2008-12-01T16:49:00.001-05:00

Above: Jeffrey Schuessler, "On Edge, Again" photo study

When viewing lighted objects it's easy to overlook the shadows they create. At Delavan Art Gallery, Director Bill Delavan has expanded on this concept to produce a first of its kind (to the best of our knowledge) exhibit devoted entirely to shadows and featuring works by a host of noted Central New York artists.

The exhibit will open at the Gallery on Thursday, December 4, from 5-8 PM and continue through Saturday, January 31, 2009. (The Gallery will close for the holidays between December 24 - January 14).

The idea for the Shadows Exhibit was conceived with two thoughts. The first was how shadows are made (by an object, a light source and a background). The second came from Bill Delavan's special Professional interest in lighting the Gallery's exhibitions, sometimes playfully turning shadows into their own art form.

Thus, in July, the Gallery released a call for entries, sparking the interest of artists working in a variety of media and encouraging them to incorporate movement of the object, the background and colored and varying light sources.

Artists whose works will comprise Delavan Art Gallery's Shadows Exhibit include Arlene Abend, Reginald Adams, Anahid Ajemian, Barbara Conte-Gaugel, Hilary Gifford, Barre Hunt, Lauren Ritchie, Jeffrey Schuessler, Andrew Schuster and Matthew Vural.

Delavan Art Gallery is a 3,800 square foot showcase and sales venue for fine art created by area artists. Located in a convenient, downtown location at 501 West Fayette Street, Syracuse, the gallery is free and open to the public. Off-street parking is available and the gallery is handicapped accessible. Delavan Art Gallery holds regular gallery hours on Thursday and Friday afternoons from 12-6 PM Saturdays from 10 AM- 4 PM and at other times by appointment. For more information, visit www.delavanartgallery.com.

Above: Matthew Vural, untitled, sculpture

Video on Syracuse.com

2008-12-01T16:47:00.000-05:00

Check out a Syracuse.com video of Delavan Art Gallery as part of the November Th3 art hop at http://videos.syracuse.com/post-standard/2008/11/th3_november_edition.html

Junior Achievement Art Auction

2008-11-10T00:13:00.001-05:00

Art Auction to benefit Junior Achievement of Central New York to be held Friday at Delavan Art Gallery

Details:

Friday, November 14, 2008
Silent Auction 6:30 - 7:30 PM
Live Auction 7:30 - 9:00 PM
Entry Charge = $10.00

To benefit the Junior Achievement of CNY

Diane L. Menzies, “Pumpkins” Oil on Canvas $125 5.5x7.75 nf, 9x7 framed

Fred Wellner “Rain” Acrylic on Canvas $300.00 12x24

Sue Canizares, “Flower Frog Vase” White stoneware painted with black slip $200.00 approximately 10x9

James Dwyer, “Y” Acrylic on Canvas and Wood

Christine More, Necklace, $75.00

C.J. Hodge, “The White Face Series IV” Acrylic on Wood $95 8x12 no frame

A. Brooks Decker “Randall Road Blues” Acrylic Painting $550.00 24x30

Lydia Benscher “Iride 2” Encaustic $150 6x12

Press Release: Art for the Holidays opens Nov. 6

2008-10-25T10:24:00.001-04:00

Ceramics, Illustrations, Mixed Media and Monotypes in "Art for the Holidays"

SYRACUSE, New York -- October 24, 2008 -- Delavan Art Gallery is proud to present ceramics, illustrations, mixed media and monotypes in, "Art for the Holidays." The exhibition opens November 6, 2008 and runs through December 23, 2008, featuring mixed media illustrations by Katya Krenina, mixed media and monotype works by Thea Reidy as well as ceramics by Clayscapes Pottery (Donald Seymour, Shawn McGuire, Jolee M. Romano, Tim See and Sallie Thompson). In addition, the gallery is pleased to present art by Elena Rall in the Wild Card area.

Katya Krenina is an award winning artist with a passion for book illustration. Her mixed media works can be found illustrating over 15 books such as "The Cloak for The Moon," "Who took my Hairy Toe," "Tooth Tales from Around the World" and three new stories on the way. These books, published by major U.S. publishers, have received numerous awards, including the opportunity for "The Bird's Gift" to be displayed at the White House as one of the best books of 2001. It is her original mixed media illustrations for these books, many of which have received excellent reviews from publications such as the New York Times and Publishers Weekly, that will be exhibited. She explains, "To me, the beauty of being an illustrator is the ability to see relevance to my art in everyday happenings." Krenina earned a Masters Degree in Illustration through Syracuse University's Independent Study Degree Program. Prior to that, she obtained a B.F.A. in Illustration from SU and a B.F.A. equivalent with highest honors from The National Art Academy in Lvov, Ukraine. She currently teaches at LeMoyne. Her style is influenced by different cultures and masters of Eastern Europe, Russia, France and the United States along with folk art and storytelling traditions. She reflects, "The journey can get difficult sometimes, but in the amazing world of talking cats, winged creatures, magical spells and ladders that lead to the Moon there is always hope for a happy ending."

Above: Katya Krenina, Untitled, Mixed Media Illustration

Thea Reidy creates mixed media works developed both on and off of the printing press. Her monotypes combine embossed plant material, pure pigments, precious metals in powder form and specialty papers. The monotype printmaking process is often called "the painterly print," which Reidy then takes to the next level by applying drawing mediums and paint. In her artist statement she describes several themes central to her art practice, including "the interdependence of intuition with logic and an interest in things submerged, hovering below the surface." Reidy is an artist, designer and educator with teaching experience at Cazenovia College, OCC, The Art Institue of Boston, Syracuse University and the University of Massachusetts. She earned art degrees from Vassar College and S.U., studied art with David Passalacqua and attended the Instituto Allende in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. She has exhibited locally and nationally in places such as the Earlville Opera House, The Redhouse, Space 200 and the Art Institute in Boston and Galeria Pavo Real in California. She is currently on the staff of the Baltimore Woods Nature Center.

Above: Thea Reidy, "Seduction" monotype and mixed media

Clayscapes Pottery, a major distributor of clay products and equipment in CNY and the Northeast, just so happens to be located right down the street from Delavan Art Gallery. The two Warehouse District arts venues are teaming up to present an exhibit of works by the staff of Clayscapes Pottery, including ceramics by Donald Seymour, Shawn McGuire, Jolee M. Romano, Tim See and Sallie Thompson. On November 22 at 1 p.m. will be a special Wood Kiln Opening Reception and Presentation when the most recent Wood Kiln fired ceramic pieces will be revealed and the public can learn about the process. This event will be held in conjunction with the Clayscapes Pottery 3rd Annual Raku Open House.

Donald Seymour started out by studying clay and sculpture at SUNY Fredonia. He went on to do research and development on clay bodies and glazes at an architectural restoration company and sell furniture before making the jump to enter the upstate New York craft fair circuit. Five years ago, Seymour's company, Clayscapes Pottery, bought the local clay distribution business and has been growing ever since. Today, Clayscapes Pottery sells over 2 million pounds of clay materials each year and offers classes to a variety of students, from beginners to advanced at its 1600 sq. ft. studio location at 1003 W. Fayette St.

The staff are accomplished ceramists and instructors in their own right. Shawn McGuire originally studied painting but has spent the past five years working and teaching at Clayscapes Pottery. Jolee M. Romano received her B.F.A. from Alfred University and now creates hand-built functional pottery that seeks to balance the elements of form and surface. Tim See earned his B.F.A. with honors in Ceramics from Syracuse University and has taught ceramics at Stone Quarry Hill Art Park, the East Area Family YMCA and as a visiting artist in several school districts in CNY. His current work applies a mechanical "steampunk" style to ceramics. Sallie Thompson studied at the Oregon School of Arts and Crafts in Portland and then earned her B.F.A. from Alfred University. She completed an independent study at Carbondale Clay Center in Colorodo in the soda firing process and was an artist-in-residence at Byrdcliffe Arts Colony in Woodstock, NY. Thompson creates vessel-based works influenced by figure and landscape. She is also a member of Skaneateles Artisans.

Above: Tim See representing Clayscapes Pottery, "Steampunk Cream & Sugar" porcelain with soldered glass, clock and watch parts

Delavan Art Gallery is excited to present works in pastel, watercolor and colored pencil by Elena Rall in the Wild Card area from November 6- November 22, 2008. Rall has been gaining attention as an emerging artist since high school, earning awards in numerous state competitions including the New York State Fair Fine Arts and Scholastic Arts competitions. With two artists in her family, her mother and grandfather, her interest in the arts has always been supported. Since an early age Rall has been exposed to various art events and has continuously been supplied with tools and given opportunities to study with local artists, including Nicora Gangi. In 2007, she embarked on a trip to China which still inspires much of her work. Recently she studied fine art at Onondaga Community College, graduating with honors in the spring of 2008. Her first love is working with portraits. She explains, "I love the challenge of capturing the individual's personality in my painting."

Above: Elena Rall, Untitled, Mixed Media

Delavan Art Gallery is a 3,800 square foot showcase and sales venue for fine art created by area artists. Located in a convenient, downtown location at 501 West Fayette Street, Syracuse, the gallery is free and open to the public. Off-street parking is available and the gallery is handicapped accessible. Regular gallery hours are Thursday and Friday afternoons from 12-6 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. and at other times by appointment.

Artist Events:
Saturday, November 15, 2008 at 1 PM- Presentation by Katya Krenina on the process of illustrating a children's book
Th3, The Third Thursday, November 20, 2008 from 5-8 PM- Elena Rall in Attendance
Saturday, November 22, 2008 at 1 PM- Wood Kiln Opening Reception with Presentation: View pieces from the most recent wood kiln firing and learn about the process; In conjunction with Clayscapes Pottery 3rd Annual Raku Open House
Saturday, December 6, 2008 from Noon-3 PM- Thea Reidy in Attendance

Talk by Sculptors Benedict and Sottile

2008-10-18T15:14:00.000-04:00

Left: "I Dreamed a Crow Landed on My Head" cast bronze by Dexter Benedict
Right: "Sylph" wood carving by Donald S. Sottile

At 2 p.m. this coming Saturday, October 25th, featured sculptors Dexter Benedict and Donald S. Sottile will be in the gallery to talk about their processes of bronze casting and wood carving. Please come with questions!

Gloria Romeo joins Gallery Staff

2008-10-18T13:34:00.000-04:00

Gloria Romeo, an established member of the local arts community, has joined Delavan Art Gallery's staff as "Gallery Sales Coordinator." We are pleased to have her on board!

We invite you to get to know her better...

Position: Gallery Sales Coordinator
Originally From: She's a Syracuse native.
Fun Fact: She has 10 grandkids- all budding artists
Known For: Her work and involvement in CNY's cultural arts community including 21 years as Director of "On My Own Time," a visual arts program and partnership among the Cultural Resources Council, Everson Museum of Art and CNY businesses
Awards: Post-Standard's Woman of Achievement in Cultural Arts, National Association of Jazz Educators Award for Youth Jazz Festival at Mulroy Civic Center
Favorite Piece of Art She Owns: pieces of art by her daughter and granddaughter
Favorite Piece of Art Purchased: "Lemons on a Plate" painting by Audrey Decker
Inspiration: "It's very rewarding to be instrumental in showcasing the talents of artists."

Joe Glisson of The Syracuse New Times

2008-10-18T13:02:00.000-04:00

Who showed up for the New Times opening of Joe Glisson's exhibit of political cartoons from "Seems Like Old Times," his 25 yr. retrospective publication?

Mayor Driscoll, Joanie Mahoney, Joan Christensen, Elvis and more!

Below: (from left to right) Gallery Director Bill Delavan, Political Cartoonist Joe Glisson, Syracuse Mayor Matthew Driscoll and Art Zimmer, Owner of the Syracuse New Times.

Below: Assemblywoman Joan Christensen with new gallery staff member Gloria Romeo

Below: Elvis in the house!

We also adopted Elizabeth Glisson as an honorary staff member. She was great!

Below: (from left to right) Jamie Glisson (daughter), Gloria Romeo (Sales Coordinator), Elizabeth Glisson (daughter, Honorary Staff Member), Caroline Szozda McGowan (Gallery Manager), Terez Iacovino (Gallery Assistant)

Talk by the Atelier Four printmakers

2008-10-15T19:02:00.001-04:00

On Saturday, October 4th at 1 p.m. three of the four featured Atelier Four printmakers came to speak about their process of printmaking. Below you can see photos of Bruce Muirhead, Bill Salzillo and Amy Georgia Buchholz talking about their process.

The talk turned into an intense interactive discussion as listeners looked at plates firsthand and walked around the room hearing the stories behind specific pieces. The three printmakers often work comfortably around each other in the collaborative printmaking environment, so it was interesting to hear them cooperating together to describe their work. Additionally, teaching experience runs high in the group so they were able to discuss how their students approach the medium and what they've learned from each other. At the end, the conversation turned to history to examine how specific artists have effected the medium and what the future impact of digital will be.

Lighted Sculpture Installed

2008-09-23T16:34:00.000-04:00

Back on August 19th a lighted sculpture was installed at Delavan Center as part of the Connective Corridor. A group of SU graduate students designed the sculpture and we are pleased to be a host. We've been busy with our re-opening, but we finally snapped a photo. To read the full story, check out the article in the Post-Standard HERE.

Two Great Events this Week

2008-09-16T17:43:00.001-04:00

Join us at Delavan Art Gallery...

On Thursday, September 18th from 5-8 PM for Th3, The Third Thursday, Syracuse's citywide visual arts night. Special Event: Featured painter C.J. Hodge will be in attendance during Th3 from 6-8 PM.

On Friday, September 19th at 5:30 PM for an illustrated talk by Avis Berman, editor of Katharine Kuh's autobiography MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH MODERN ART.

Greater Syracuse NOW (Nat'l Organization for Women) presents an illustrated talk by Avis Berman, editor of Katharine Kuh's autobiography "My Love Affair with Modern Art."

"Katharine Kuh (1904-1994), an Art Institute of Chicago curator for over two decades and art critic for the Saturday Review for 19 years, found personal contact with artists essential. Nothing, she stated, could substitute for the experience of seeing work firsthand in the artist's studio. And that was what she set out to do. Over the productive decades of her career, modern art icon Kuh became close friends with Edward Hopper, Fernand Leger, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Isamu Noguchi, Clifford Still, and many others. Overcoming her reticence to reveal her own personal life, Kuh had written three-fourths of her memoirs prior to her death in 1994. Her editor and friend Avis Berman carefully sifted through stacks of notes, draft essays, and clippings to piece together the remaining portrait of Kuh's amazing life among artists." -Art Institute of Chicago website

Opening Photos- a Five Year Anniversary Celebration!

2008-09-16T17:00:00.000-04:00

THE ARTISTS:

Painter C.J. Hodge (in attendance this Thursday, Sept. 18 from 6-8 PM for Th3)

Sculptor Dexter Benedict

Sculptor Donald S. Sottile

Printmaker Amy Buchholz

Father/Son Printmakers Bruce and Jake Muirhead with their family

Who got away? Printmaker Bill Salzillo snuck out without a photo... lucky duck.

THE CELEBRATION:

Caroline is back!

Terry Delavan after bringing out delicious Thai food

Gallery Women: Cheryl of Edgewood Gallery (left) and Melissa of Orange Line Gallery (right)

Bill Delavan explaining... We're Glad to be Back!

Bill setting candles in our five year anniversary cake

Staff members Caroline Szozda-McGowan (left), Courtney Rile (middle) and Bill Delavan (right) just after blowing out candles

Gallery Girls: Martyna (left) and Fall 2008 Interns Christine (center) and Terez (right)

From Christine, the new Intern

2008-09-16T15:34:00.000-04:00

I'm Christine Kelley and about a week ago I started working as an Intern for the Delavan Art Gallery. I'm currently a Senior at Syracuse University enrolled in VPA as a Photography Major. In the recent past I had work in the Everson Biennial and hope to graduate from SU and be able to make a career as a practicing artist. Also noteworthy to be mentioned is that another Intern was hired to work at the Delavan, Terez Iacovino. She is also a Senior at Syracuse University and is majoring in Printmaking. Since we are both graduating in the spring we are currently working on our BFA shows and are hoping to be able to exhibit our work together sometime in
April.

Its always a pleasure for me to be able to go to different galleries and get to know new artists and look at their work. I'm always interested in seeing other artist's work and understanding the ideas that inspired it. Since I have been here things have been a little busy. On my first day working not only was the current exhibition hung, but also lit, something that takes a great amount of time and work. Needless to say it was a great day for an intern to start. The chance to be able to help accomplish these tasks is something that every intern is looking for when they're applying for internships.

This past week we had the opening for "Five Years at Delavan". The exhibition includes two sculptors and four printmakers. It was a great night. The artists were able to attend the opening and had the chance to speak with many of the viewers. There were always people at the show and never a dull moment. Even towards the end of the opening when the gallery was beginning to close there were still several people meandering about looking at the work. The Delavan is an excellent space to be able to really meet and speak with the artists. Its a much more personal space than many other galleries that I've been too, and it really enables there to be a one on one experience with the artists.

Donald Sottile, one of the two sculptors showing, was one of the artists that I was able to chat with during the opening. His work has been shown all over the country and to be able to meet him and talk to him about his work was a wonderful opportunity. I was also able to speak to C. J. Hodge, the artist currently showing in the Wildcard area. Both artists were very interesting to talk to and obviously very passionate about their work. C. J. Hodge will also be at Th3 this coming Thursday. One of the interesting things that he did was to make miniature paintings, maybe 2" x 3" and pass them out at the opening with his business card on the back. He's a great artist to be able to meet with and always has very interesting things to say about his own work and other exhibiting artists. I'm looking forward to being able to go to Th3 on Thursday and get a new group of people into the gallery to look at the current exhibition.

Gallery on Channel 3 News!

2008-09-10T17:48:00.002-04:00

Last week Laura Hand of Channel 3 interviewed Bill Delavan and artist Barbara Kellogg. It aired on Tuesday, September 9th... Check it out!

http://www.wstm.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=188341

Press Release for the Exhibition "Five Years at Delavan"

2008-08-22T23:02:00.001-04:00

Delavan Art Gallery proudly reopens with the exhibition "Five Years at Delavan"

SYRACUSE, New York -- August 25, 2008 -- Delavan Art Gallery is proud to reopen after a six month break to celebrate its five year anniversary and launch a new year of exhibitions. The first, appropriately titled, "Five Years at Delavan," opens September 11, 2008 and runs through October 25 featuring prints by the Atelier Four (Amy Georgia Buchholz, Bruce Muirhead, Jake Muirhead and Bill Salzillo) as well as sculptures by Dexter Benedict and Donald S. Sottile. In addition, as part of the new changes at Delavan Art Gallery, an exciting flex-space called "Wild Card" is being launched this fall. The first two exhibits in this area are paintings by C.J. Hodge from September 11 through October 4 and political cartoons by Joe Glisson from October 9 through November 1, 2008.

The Atelier Four is a group of artists associated with Hamilton College working together in the collaborative workshop spirit often found among printmakers. Linked philosophically to the Arts and Crafts Movement that has deep roots in Upstate New York, this group is committed to keeping the tradition of studio printmaking alive while promoting its contemporary relevance. The selection of intaglio prints exhibited in "Five Years at Delavan" compares and contrasts the working methods of the four whose teacher/student relationships developed into life-long friendships that have shaped their art and careers. From a historical perspective the selection also references the important influences of the upstate New York printmaking laboratories centered around Robert Marx at Syracuse University and Harvey Breverman at The University of Buffalo.

The Atelier Four at work

Despite similar goals, each of the four artists represents a different approach to intaglio printmaking. Bruce Muirhead is a self-defined painter/print-maker in the romantic mold. His Middlebury College colleague, David Bumbeck, who learned his craft from Robert Marx at Syracuse University, introduced him to the intaglio process in the early 1970's. Bruce is Professor of Art at Hamilton College where he teaches painting and also runs the print shop.

Bruce Muirhead, "The Italian House" Etching / Aquatint

William Salzillo, also a Professor of Art at Hamilton College, learned printmaking as a student at the Rhode Island School of Design, and later studied lithography with Garo Antresian, a founder of the Tammarind Institute at the University of New Mexico. Salzillo's new prints reference historical styles, a direction inspired by his curatorial research as Director of Hamilton's Emerson Gallery from 1982 to 1993 and 1999 to 2001.

William Salzillo, "Sun Drawing" Etching / Aquatint

Amy Georgia Buchholz studied art at Kirkland College in Clinton, NY. She earned her MFA at the University of Buffalo where she was Studio Assistant to the Director of the Printmaking Program, Harvey Breverman. Buchholz has received a NYFA Fellowship, a Kirkland College Fellowship and a NYSCA Artist-in-Residency Grant. Her recent dry points, based on nature subjects, reference the aesthetic philosophy of the Etching Revival.

Amy Georgia Buchholz, "Fledglings" Etching with Dry Point

Jake Muirhead grew up in Clinton, NY and also attended Hamilton College, majoring in art. He did post graduate work at George Mason University, in Fairfax, Virginia, where he earned his MFA in printmaking. Jake has participated in numerous national and international print competitions. He is currently Associate in Charge of Etching at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in Maryland in addition to teaching drawing at Montgomery College and printmaking at the Washington Waldorf School.

Jake Muirhead, "Glass Factory Road" Etching

Dexter Benedict is a sculptor and the owner/operator of the Fire Works Foundry and sculpture studio in Yates County, New York. He is known for a number of commissions ranging from small commemorative awards to monumental bronze portrait figures. He states, "The process is fascinating, from the evolution of an idea in transitory soft clay to the conversion into enduring bronze..." Benedict received a B.A. in Art from Ottowa University and an M.F.A. in Sculpture from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In addition to his work as a sculptor, Benedict also teaches at Keuka College.

Dexter Benedict, "I dreamed a crow landed on my head" cast bronze

Donald S. Sottile of Penn Yan, NY, is an accomplished sculptor working in both bronze and wood. For 23 years he worked at Wendell Castle as an engineer, designer, painter, sculptor, teacher and then Director at the Wendell Castle School. In December of 1999, Sottile became a full-time artist, producing commissioned work such as eleven bronze child figures, public statues in bronze of Abe Lincoln (Town of Westfield, NY and Hartford, CT) and life-size solid wood carvings including a mahogany Madonna and Child for Grace Episcopal in Seneca Falls, NY.

Donald S. Sottile, "Sylph" carved wood and acrylic color

C.J. Hodge is a painter and photographer living in Jamesville, NY, and teaching art at Cortland Junior Senior High School. In "The Tile Series," Hodge works with digital images of people that he has captured and manipulated using image editing software. Using these images as reference, he then sketches the images with pencil, adds an acrylic under-painting and then a grid, eventually treating each square as an individual piece of art and completing them with oil pastel and pencil drawings. The exhibit of C.J. Hodge's paintings will open with "Five Years at Delavan" on September 11 with a reception from 5-8 p.m. and will continue through October 4, 2008.

C. J. Hodge, "Turning Away" Painting

Joe Glisson is a political cartoonist with a new book being released titled "Seems Like Old Times." The book is a political cartoon retrospective of work published in the Syracuse New Times, featuring major events and politicians of the past 25 years, including local topics and persons. Delavan Art Gallery is exhibiting a collection of Glisson's originals beginning on Friday, October 10 and running through November 1, 2008. A reception will be held from 5-8 p.m. on Friday, October 10. Joe Glisson will be at Delavan Art Gallery for a book signing on Saturday, October 18 from Noon to 3 p.m. The new book is available for purchase at the gallery at any time during the exhibit.

Joe Glisson, "Garbage In, Garbage Out" Political Cartoon, Pen and Ink

Delavan Art Gallery is a 3,800 square foot showcase and sales venue for fine art created by area artists. Located in a convenient, downtown location at 501 West Fayette Street, Syracuse, the gallery is free and open to the public. Off-street parking is available and the gallery is handicapped accessible. Delavan Art Gallery reopens on Thursday, September 11, 2008 with regular gallery hours on Thursday and Friday afternoons from 12-6 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. and at other times by appointment.

"The Last Picture Show" Reception Photo

2008-08-22T22:58:00.000-04:00

Above: Illustration professor John Thompson and SU VPA Dean Ann Clarke speaking at the reception for "The Last Picture Show" on August 8th

Special Exhibition: The Last Picture Show

2008-07-23T18:14:00.001-04:00

VPA’s Independent Study Degree Program in illustration concludes with ‘The Last Picture Show’ exhibition July 31 – Aug. 8

Above: "War of the Worlds" by Vincent Di Fate

After 35 years of offering professional illustrators the opportunity to receive a master’s degree while working full time, the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ (VPA) Independent Study Degree Program (ISDP) in illustration will conclude with the exhibition “The Last Picture Show,” July 31–Aug. 8 at Delavan Art Gallery, 501 West Fayette St., Syracuse. A closing reception will be held Friday, Aug. 8, from 6–9 p.m. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.

The exhibition will feature the thesis work of the ISDP illustration class of 2008: Sheila Carey, Rafael Diez, Jeff Miller and Lynnette Sorbello. Also featured will be the work of 29 award-winning illustrators who have served as members of the program’s faculty throughout its history.

Faculty illustrators who will exhibit work include Joe Ciardiello, John Collier, Kinuko Craft, Roger De Muth, Vincent Di Fate, Randy Enos, Teresa Fasolino, David Grove, Rudy Gutierrez, Gene Hoffman, Gary Kelley, Anita Kunz, Betsy Lewin, Ted Lewin, Greg Manchess, Franklin McMahon, Mark McMahon, C.F. Payne, Jerry Pinkney, Don Ivan Punchatz, James Ransome, Whitney Sherman, Nancy Stahl, Barron Storey, Herb Tauss, John Thompson, Murray Tinkelman, John Vargo and Robert Weaver.

VPA began offering ISDP programs in both advertising design and illustration in 1973, after former advertising design faculty member John Sellers identified the need for a graduate program aimed at students who were already professionals and had specific goals and needs. Sellers and Vargo created the two programs as a way for these students to obtain a master’s degree in a reasonable amount of time without having to leave their jobs. They assembled a faculty of top creative professionals to teach each program and limited the students’ on-campus residency time to one two-week summer session for three consecutive summers. Students also met 10 to 12 days each year in different cities for critiques, lectures and visits to creative agencies.

“The Independent Study Degree Program in illustration was an ingenious idea that was admired throughout the illustration community for its level of excellence,” says Thompson, professor of illustration in VPA and coordinator of the ISDP illustration program. “We are especially thankful to its originator, John Vargo, and to Murray Tinkelman, who led the program for 30 years. ‘The Last Picture Show’ will be an outstanding final tribute to this original concept.”

The ISDP advertising design program will also conclude this summer. VPA will continue to offer a master of fine arts degree in illustration through its residency program.

Delavan Art Gallery will be open for the exhibition during the following days:
Thursday, July 31: Noon – 6 PM
Friday, August 1: Noon – 6 PM
Saturday, August 2: 10 AM- 4 PM
Thursday, August 7: Noon - 6 PM
Friday, August 8: Noon – 9 PM

VPA is the creative center of Syracuse University. The college is comprised of five areas: the School of Art and Design; the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies; the Department of Drama; the Setnor School of Music; and the Department of Transmedia. Together, students, faculty and staff play a vital role in the academic and cultural life of the University and Syracuse communities. Learn more about the college at http://vpa.syr.edu.

Sheila Carey, "Isaac Newt"

Kinuko Craft, "Cybelle's Secret"

Roger De Muth, "Bessie found one striped sock,
On the floor behind the clock.
Can you help her find the other?
She doesn't want to ask her mother."
-both from the book "Messy Bessie, Where's my homework?"

Rafael Diez, "Orlando Street Scene"

Rudy Gutierrez, "Katrina Loot?"

Anita Kunz, "Frog Princess"

Greg Manchess, "Night Crossing"

Jeff Miller, "Digging" (detail)

C. F. Payne, "Ross Perot"

Lynnette Sorbello, "JoAnne"

John Thompson, "Sightseers From The East"

Win Tonight at Th3!

2008-06-19T13:08:00.000-04:00

We are open tonight for Th3! Enter to win gift certificates to bc Restaurant at our gallery and any of the other Third Thursday gallery hop participants.

Details on tonights Th3 events are at: http://www.th3syracuse.com/02_datesevents.htm

April Th3 winner from our gallery!

2008-05-15T21:42:00.001-04:00

Photo courtesy of John Dowling

As you may recall, last month for Th3 we had an interactive cupcake installation to promote the first Th3 giveaway- a cake designed by one of CNY’s premiere sugar artists, Jennifer Comfort of She Takes The Cake. We had an overwhelming interest as people showed up at the gallery in record numbers for Th3. All 108 cupcakes were gone by the end of the night. We had so many people participate in the drawing that the winner ended up being one of our visitors! The winner, Alysia Bonvino, a dentist/dancer from Cicero, is pictured above at Delavan Art Gallery as “she takes the cake” home just in time for Mother’s Day. The painting behind her is "Red Flow" by Lutz Scherneck. Congratulations Alysia!

Film Fest report

2008-05-15T21:31:00.000-04:00

It was our pleasure to host film screenings as part of the Syracuse International Film Festival on May 2-4, 2008. Below are some photos of the events. The gallery windows were blocked off and Visual Technologies did a great job of installing a projector and screen with a black backdrop. Because of their work, the gallery worked surprisingly well as theater. As a plus, people enjoyed looking at the art before and after. The volunteers enjoyed it too because they were able to watch the films between breaks. At some venues, the volunteers are located outside the theater, but ours is so small and intimate they were part of the whole thing! All around, it was a great experience with some wonderful films.

cupcake report

2008-04-26T17:40:00.000-04:00

On Thursday, April 17, for Th3, The Third Thursday, Jen Comfort of She Takes The Cake installed an interactive cupcake mural and cookie mosaic at Delavan Art Gallery as a promotion for her cake-making services, for which we were having a free drawing to win. The event was a delicious success! With an approximate 90 people attending throughout the evening, all 108 cupcakes were gone by the end of the night and I think that's proof of how good they tasted! For those of you who couldn't be there (aka "little one"), here's what the night looked like:

Jen Comfort of She Takes The Cake stands by her creation

Melanie, Gallery Assistant and current intern at Delavan Art Gallery, happily takes the first cupcake as lights flash and cameras record...

Students from SUNY Oswego found the cupcakes irresistible

the meandering crowd

In addition to the cupcakes, writer Jennifer Pashley presented her "feelthy fiction" (as I heard it called) as part of the Stone Canoe Writers Series

Overall a great night!

April's Th3 is Delicious!

2008-04-17T14:39:00.000-04:00

Eat a Free Cupcake and Enter to Win:
Enter to win a cake designed by one of CNY's premiere sugar artists, Jennifer Comfort of She Takes The Cake, in the first of Th3's monthly drawings.

To promote the prize, Jennifer Comfort is installing an interactive cupcake mural and cookie mosaic at Delavan Art Gallery and OCC... and Yes! You get to eat a cupcake! Please stop by between 5 - 8 PM tonight (Apr. 17) to claim your free cupcake!

To enter to win a cake fill out a ticket at any of the Th3 locations open April 17th. You may enter as many times as you'd like but only once per location. The winner will be notified by April 25th. You could win a cake for Mom!

Read more about the project here: http://shetakesthecake.blogspot.com/2008/04/eat-art-in-syracuse.html
See some of Jennifer Comfort's delicious cakes here: www.shetakesthecake.com

Jennifer Pashley At 7 PM:

As another special event for Th3, The Third Thursday, April 17, Delavan Art Gallery will be hosting a poetry reading by Jennifer Pashley at 7 p.m. as part of the Stone Canoe Writers' Series.

Jennifer Pashley is a fiction instructor at the YMCA's Downtown Writer's Center in Syracuse, and an adjunct instructor at Le Moyne College. Her book of short fiction, States, was published in 2007. She lives in Central New York with her husband and two sons and is currently at work on a novel.

Websites for Reference:
www.jenniferpashley.com
www.stonecanoejournal.org
www.th3syracuse.com
www.delavanartgallery.com

Upcoming Events

2008-04-09T20:24:00.000-04:00

Upcoming Events:

Th3: Poetry Reading

As a special event for Th3, The Third Thursday, April 17, Delavan Art Gallery will be hosting a poetry reading by Jennifer Pashley at 7 PM as part of the Stone Canoe Writers' Series. The gallery will be open for Th3 from 5-8 PM.

Jennifer Pashley is a fiction instructor at the YMCA's Downtown Writer's Center in Syracuse, and an adjunct instructor at Le Moyne College. Her book of short fiction, States, was published in 2007. She lives in Central New York with her husband and two sons and is currently at work on a novel.

Websites for Reference:
www.jenniferpashley.com
www.stonecanoejournal.org
www.th3syracuse.com

Special Event: Baldwin Cultural Crawl

The gallery will be open as a participant of the Baldwin Cultural Crawl on Friday, April 25, from Noon - 6 PM and on Sat., April 26 from 10 AM - 4 PM. Admission to the gallery is free. Please visit the press release for information on where to buy passports.

The Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund of CNY has teamed up with community groups along the Connective Corridor for the first ever Baldwin Corridor Cultural Crawl. Planned in conjunction with the opening weekend of the Syracuse International Film Festival and the cultural venues of Th3: A City- Wide Art Open, this two-day event will celebrate the cultural richness and business diversity Syracuse has to offer.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund.

More than 40 business and cultural organizations inside and on the perimeters of the Connective Corridor will offer free samples, discounts, giveaways and other activities throughout the two-day event. The passports will offer unique access to an array of cultural, dining and shopping opportunities. Patrons who have their passports stamped at five participating venues can turn it in to be eligible for a drawing to win a grand prize currently worth more than $2,300.

For more information, please visit the PRESS RELEASE.

Special Event: Film Festival

For the first time, Delavan Art Gallery will be a venue for the Syracuse International Film and Video Festival! Screenings will be held in the gallery on May 2nd, 3rd and 4th of 2008.

Screening Schedule for Delavan Art Gallery:
Note- subject to change... To see the full screening schedule, visit the website of the Syracuse International Film and Video Festival, at http://www.syrfilm.com/screenings.html
Admission tickets for regular festival screenings: $8 ($6 for seniors and students)

Friday, May 2

(38) 5:15pm
With Kisses From Your Love by Jan Sikl (Czech Republic) 52 minutes, documentary
Escape From Hell (Korea) 6 minutes, animation USA Premiere
Little Fairy Tale by Gor Margaryan (Armenia) 28 minutes, documentary USA Premiere

(39) 7:30pm
Juju Factory by Balufa Bakupa-Kanyinda (Congo) 93 minutes, fiction
Wedding Day by David Schmoeller (USA) 25 minutes, fiction

(40) 10:00pm
Fragments of Disappearance Foretold by Oliveir Meys (Belgium) 74 minutes, documentary
Naus by Lukas Glaser & Roman Stetina (Czech Republic) 14 minutes, animation
Dinner Time by Gor Baghdasaryan (Armenia) 3 minutes, documentary USA Premiere
A Clear Sky On a Bad Day by Akinobu Ikeno (Japan) 17 minutes, fiction World Premiere

Saturday, May 3

(64) 11:30am
Americano by Carlos Ferrand (Quebec/Canada), 110 minutes, documentary USA Premiere

(65) 2:00pm
Let’s Finish!!! by Cheol Mean Hwang (Korea), 100 minutes, fiction

(66) 4:30pm
Fragmentby Gyula Maar (Hungary), 86 minutes, fiction World Premiere
Fission by Kun-I Chang (Taiwan), 5 minutes, animation USA Premiere

(67) 7:00pm
The Tunnel (El Boquete) by Mariano Mussi (Argentina), 83 minutes, fiction
Cold Joint (Studeny Spoj) by Miroslav Remo (Slovakia) 20 minutes, fiction USA Premiere
Camera (Korea), 10 minutes, animation USA Premiere

(68) 9:30pm
Dolina by Zoltan Kamondi (Hungary), 122 minutes, fiction

Sunday, May 4

(87) 12:00pm
El Benny by Jorge Luis Sanchez (Cuba), 120 minutes, fiction

(88) 2:30pm
Unfinished Stories by Pourya Azarbayjani (Iran), 76 minutes, fiction
William Klein – “Out Of Necessity” by Douglas Sloan (USA), 8 minutes, documentary
Son by Daniel Mulley (England), 17 minutes, experimental

5th Annual Exhibition for Art Students

2008-03-20T10:23:00.000-04:00

Fifth Annual Exhibition and Fundraiser for Art Students at Delavan Art Gallery on Th3 in March

"Untitled" by Moreece Armstead, 6th Grade Student at Blodgett, oil pastel and black glue

Delavan Art Gallery is pleased to present the fifth annual exhibition and fundraiser of art by students in three Syracuse School District Elementary Schools: Blodgett, Seymour Magnet and Solace. Each year, students from the classes of Stacy Griffin, Kristin Dugger, Kelly Moser-Vogler, Paul Bova and Simone Montgomery have the chance to see their work displayed and sold in a professional setting to raise money for themselves as burgeoning artists and for school art supplies. Donations of art supplies are also encouraged and can be dropped off at the gallery at any point during the exhibition. A special reception will be held during Th3, The Third Thursday, on March 20 from 5 - 8 p.m. For those not able to attend the reception, the gallery will be open to the public on Friday, March 21 from Noon - 6 p.m. and by appointment during business hours, Tuesday through Friday, of the following week, ending March 28, 2008. To make an appointment, please call the gallery at (315) 425-7500.

Delavan Art Gallery is a 3,800 square foot showcase and sales venue for fine art created by area artists. Conveniently located downtown at 501 West Fayette Street in Syracuse, the gallery is free and open to the public. Off-street parking is available and the gallery is handicapped accessible.

Effective February 23, 2008, Delavan Art Gallery is taking a break from the normal exhibition schedule, opening only for Th3 each month and for special events such as this. The gallery is scheduled to reopen with regular programming for its Five Year Anniversary in September of 2008. For more information visit www.DelavanArtGallery.com.

Masquerade Ball Polaroids!!

2008-02-28T12:54:00.003-05:00

Polaroids from the Masquerade Ball!!

Here are our winners:

Please click on the images below to see the photos larger...

Review in Post-Standard and Letter to the Editor

2008-02-14T17:57:00.000-05:00

Delavan Art Gallery's current exhibition, "The Artistic Domain" was reviewed last Sunday by the Post-Standard's arts critic Katherine Rushworth. Unhappy with the review, Stone Canoe Editor Robert Colley published a letter to the editor which was in today's paper. The links to both are below. The articles will be posted on Syracuse.com for two weeks after they were first published.

Katherine Rushworth's Review in Sunday's STARS

Robert Colley's Letter to the Editor

The Passing of Roger Bingham Morris

2008-02-06T17:02:00.000-05:00

The photo on the left is of Roger Bingham Morris, taken on December 6, 2007, at the opening reception of an exhibition of the artist's work at Delavan Art Gallery, titled, "R. Bingham Morris, Contemporary Acrylic Paintings." The night is a fond memory, for some the last, of an artist who has moved and inspired Central New Yorkers for years. May he rest in peace.

For more photos from that night, click HERE.

To read the press release about Morris's exhibition at Delavan Art Gallery, including more info about Morris as an artist, click HERE.

The following is the obituary published in The Post-Standard on 2/6/2008:

February 4, 2008 Roger Bingham Morris, renowned artist in and beyond greater Syracuse, died Monday at Francis House, just minutes before his 69th birthday, just hours after his beloved Giants won the Superbowl. Influenced by the textures of ceramists, R. Bingham Morris paintings "are about paint, not objects or scenes...like music, beyond explanation, layers of color that flow off the brush or the knife or my hands, where the imagination takes over to convey a mood." A member and past president of Associated Artists, "RB" studied his craft at SUNY Buffalo and RIT, where he received a BFA, and MFA from Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. His works are included in many corporate and private collections, and have been featured in numerous exhibitions, including current exhibits at Delavan Center, Manlius Library, and the B.R. Updike Stone House Gallery. He also studied the colors of military history, and won awards for his miniature models and ships. Roger enjoyed his 50th East Syracuse High School Reunion last summer. He served in the U.S. Army in Germany and Vietnam, and praised the Syracuse V.A. Hospital and staff for the care he recently received there. The son of Paul and "Head Teacher" Lucy Morris, he said he would be survived by his art, and his family in the art community, and he was gratified that he was able to spend his life in creative endeavors. His ashes will brush the waters in a summer memorial. Comments may be sent to rbinghammorris@earthlink.net Contributions may be made to Francis House, 108 Michaels Avenue, Syracuse, NY 13208. Delaney-Greabell-Adydan Funeral Home has charge of arrangements.

Masquerade Ball

2008-02-06T15:28:00.000-05:00

Join us for one more party before our sabbatical! Announcing our Masquerade Ball on Sat. February 16th at 6:30 PM featuring a first time ever collaboration by accomplished jazz musicians Marcia Rutledge and Jason Kessler...

Dress to impress with your favorite mask... Prizes will be awarded for the following categories:
- Best Dressed Lady
- Best Dressed Gentleman
- Best Dressed We're-not-sure

DETAILS

Music: Jazz by Marcia Rutledge & Jason Kessler
Food: A fine assortment of hors d'oeuvres
Art: Masks by Evamaria Hardin and the exhibition "The Artistic Domain" on view through Feb. 23
When: Saturday, February 16th, 6:30-8:30 PM
Suggested Admission: $10/person to cover food, music and non-alcoholic beverages. BYOB
What to Bring: An eccentric outfit with mask and your favorite alcoholic beverage- That's right, it's BYOB, so show off your fine taste in wine!

Artists at the opening of "The Artistic Domain"

2008-01-25T16:27:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone for a great and very well attended opening!

Artist James Skvarch

Artist Lew Graham

Artist Sharon Gordon

Stone Canoe Artist Arlene Abend peaking through her sculpture

PRESS RELEASE for "The Artistic Domain"

2008-01-18T16:22:00.000-05:00

SYRACUSE, New York -- January 10, 2007 -- Delavan Art Gallery is pleased to present the exhibition "The Artistic Domain" featuring paintings by Sharon Gordon, encaustic paintings by Lew Graham, etchings and oil paintings by James Skvarch and works by artists in the second edition of Stone Canoe, a journal of arts and ideas from Upstate New York. The exhibit opens on Thursday, January 24 from 5-8 p.m. and continues through Saturday, February 23, 2008.

Sharon Gordon is showing new paintings from the series "Pushing Through May and August." This series of abstracted landscapes examines impending changes in atmosphere. Gordon was born and raised in Upstate New York and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Fine Arts from Skidmore College. Since her graduation she has enjoyed continuing success as a painter, having had group and solo exhibitions, as well as ongoing representation in numerous galleries throughout the East Coast. Experiencing artwork in France and Italy was a determining factor in Gordon's decision to spend her life as a painter.

Sharon Gordon, "Pushing Through May and August II" oil painting, 30" x 30 "

Lew Graham has returned for her second exhibition at Delavan Art Gallery with a new series of paintings with collage elements. Her new work uses the increasingly popular medium of encaustic, brought back to favor by artists such as Jasper Johns. Graham's paintings combine the grid with relief elements to refer to nature and landscape. She has been exhibiting paintings and three-dimensional works as well as installation art throughout New York City, New Jersey and Upstate New York for over 25 years. Graham's work is included in numerous private and corporate collections.

Lew Graham, "Matrix: Yellow" Encaustic and mixed media on panel, 24"w x 48"h x 4"d

James Skvarch, the award-winning intaglio printmaker from Syracuse, NY, is exhibiting a selection of etchings and oil paintings of traditional interiors and landscapes. His realistic etchings depict actual and imagined places inspired by the Italian Master Piranesi. Skvarch attended the Rochester Institute of Technology, received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Maryland Art Institute and also studied at the International Academy for Art in Salzburg, Austria. Over the last 25 years, his work has been shown in a number of galleries in Illinois, Connecticut and many areas of Upstate New York. His work is included in the collections of the Rochester Memorial Art Museum, Cooperstown Museum of Art, Onondaga Historical Society and Munson Williams Proctor Institute, to name a few.

James Skvarch, "Heroic Paintings Mystify the Curious" etching

Delavan Art Gallery is pleased to host a second exhibition of visual art from Stone Canoe, a journal of arts and ideas from Upstate New York, published each spring by University College of Syracuse University. Stone Canoe showcases the work of a diverse mix of emerging and well-established artists, poets, and writers with connections to Upstate New York including work from a Pulitzer Prize winner, a quadriplegic artist, and sixth-grade students from the Edward Smith School. The inaugural issue won a bronze medal in the 2007 Independent Publisher Book Awards, as well as numerous compliments from artists, critics and writers. Delavan Art Gallery is displaying works by visual artists in the second edition of the journal including Arlene Abend, Joy Adams, Brantley Carroll, Sylvia de Swaan, Sara Di Donato, Doug DuBois, Sara Eichner, Maureen Foster, Nicora Gangi, Diana Godfrey, Ronald Gonzalez, Holly Greenberg, Sam Harmon, Elana Herzog, Ada Jacques, Aida Khalil, Jonathan Kirk, Tom Krueger, Scott McCarney, John "Jaws" McGrath, Bruce Muirhead, Jake Muirhead, Donalee Peden-Wesley, Linda Price, Dennis Pullen, Beatrix Reinhardt, Steve Shaner, Lynette K Stephenson, and Deborah Zlotsky. The visual arts editor and curator for the Stone Canoe exhibit is Marion Wilson. For more information about Stone Canoe, visit the journal's website, www.stonecanoejournal.org.

Representing artists published in Stone Canoe:
Bruce Muirhead, "Wind Farm on the Tug Hill Plateau" oil on canvas, 36" W x 24" H

Delavan Art Gallery is a 3,800 square foot showcase and sales venue for fine art created by area artists. Conveniently located downtown at 501 West Fayette Street in Syracuse, the gallery is free and open to the public. Off-street parking is available and the gallery is handicapped accessible. Delavan Art Gallery opens “The Artistic Domain” with a reception from 5 - 8 p.m. on Thursday, January 24. The show is on exhibit through Saturday, February 23 on Thursday and Friday afternoons from 12-6 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. and at other times by appointment. For more information visit www.DelavanArtGallery.com.

Article in Post-Standard

2007-12-19T13:23:00.000-05:00

The article will be posted on Syracuse.com for two weeks.

Headline: Syracuse art gallery scales back operations
URL: http://www.syracuse.com/articles/cny/index.ssf?/base/business-11/1198063526285350.xml&coll=1
Notes: The Delavan Art Gallery will set a new course in the new year.

News from Delavan Art Gallery

2007-12-17T14:19:00.000-05:00

The following letter was sent to our email list on Monday, December 17, 2007 at 5 PM. We welcome your comments.

A Letter from Delavan Art Gallery

December 17, 2007

Dear Artists, Friends and Supporters of Delavan Art Gallery,

Delavan Art Gallery is taking a break. Starting after the closing of our exhibition, "The Artistic Domain", on Saturday, February 23, 2008, the gallery will operate on a reduced basis for a period of time with the intention of resuming active exhibitions in September (2008).

Since opening four and a half years ago we have followed a self-defined mission of showing and selling the fine art of area artists. By February of next year we will have had forty-four exhibitions for 155 area artists in individual shows, 250 area artists in seventeen group shows, an exhibit each year for four years running of the students from three neighborhood elementary schools and also numerous special exhibits and events. We will have displayed over 6500 pieces of two and three dimensional art and sold over 1800 works by 225 artists. Our openings and events have consistently been well attended; people continually come into the gallery, some of whom have never stepped foot in a gallery before; we have been selling artwork since day one and area artists continue to want to have shows here. An achievement of this scale has only been possible through the efforts of our very competent and dedicated staff, especially Caroline Szozda McGowan, Gallery Manager, and Courtney Rile, Marketing and PR Coordinator, as well as the many, many others whose help, advice and support has been so essential. We also wish to recognize the buyers and collectors who have sustained us to this point.

From the beginning we have been an experiment, a fact we made explicit in our gallery description, which goes to all interested artists. We created a gallery that is large enough to do several individual shows at the same time; a gallery that is flexible with its hanging panels and excellent lighting; and which promotes area artists and the arts as much as possible. However, to enable this we must also have sufficient self-generated revenue as we are structurally a for-profit organization. Thus we have a "double bottom line" with the dual tasks of serving the arts community and sustaining ourselves financially. On the first point we have succeeded very well. On the second there is a need for improvement. Another, equally if not more important factor is our own energy level for continuing the present mode of operation. We all feel a need to change our procedures and practices. Currently we have three and a half days to turn over one show to the next, and we've done it forty-three times, but it's now time for a change.

After reviewing the situation, we have decided to ease off for awhile. We'll keep artwork in the gallery by artists who have previously shown; we'll be open during TH3, The Third Thursday, each month or by appointment; we may have a few selected events, and, throughout the pause period, we'll be actively re-thinking how to better accomplish our dual goals.

This period of lower activity will involve time off for our staff, but for the most part we will still be around. We hope to use this time to regroup, refresh, reset, rethink, reenergize and return. Undoubtedly there will be changes. We will reexamine the setup of the physical space; the geographic area from which we draw artists; the frequency of our shows; our commission structure; the kind of artwork we choose to exhibit (while maintaining our quality levels); our presentation and sales efforts; our advertising reach; and many other aspects. While nothing is off limits, there are a few areas we are not interested in changing: our concentration on area artists (although the area may be somewhat expanded), our personnel who I feel have done an extraordinary job in these four and a half years, and our desire to remain focused on fine arts. Our purpose in this respite is to reopen with new energy, new excitement, new ideas and possibly some new directions.

In the course of our continuing operations we have had shows on the planning board, which will now not be happening - at least for a while. While we all regret that this will disappoint artists who were looking forward to the possibility of doing a show in the near future, we must have this hiatus if we are to continue at all. Please contact us via e-mail if possible if you have any questions. In addition we will be separately contacting those artists who have shown and who have work here.

We must genuinely thank the many fine area artists who have shown here, the buyers and collectors of artwork, the greater community of artists and friends who have been so supportive, the loyal gallery attendees and new viewers who we enjoy seeing at each opening and throughout the exhibitions, the present gallery and building personnel as well as past gallery personnel, all of our wonderful interns and volunteers, the media and our suppliers and all others who have made important contributions to the gallery's success thus far - Thank you.

Finally, we will keep you up to date via our website, www.DelavanArtGallery.com. Alternatively, we'd like to hear suggestions and comments from interested parties. Leave comments on our blog: http:// DelavanArtGallery.blogspot.com and/or mail letters to Delavan Art Gallery, 501 W. Fayette St., Syracuse, NY 13204.

In the meantime we continue to be open and hope to see you during the course of our current show, "Wrapping Up The Season", which ends Saturday, Dec 22nd. Then for the 44th Exhibition, "The Artistic Domain", from opening on Thursday, January 24th and running through Saturday, February 23rd, 2008, and finally for a great re-opening in September 2008.

Thank you all for your support.
Sincerely,

Bill Delavan, Director
Caroline Szozda McGowan, Gallery Manager
Courtney Rile, Marketing and PR Coordinator
Delavan Art Gallery

Winter Solstice Party

2007-12-14T17:12:00.000-05:00

Please join us at our Winter Solstice Party during Th3 on Thursday Dec. 20th from 5-8 PM!!

What is the Winter Solstice?
At precisely 1:08 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Saturday, December 22, 2007, Winter begins in the Northern Hemisphere. This is the longest night and shortest day of the year when the Sun is farthest South and the Earth is at its maximum tilt. While it may seem like a dark time to celebrate, the Winter Solstice marks the return of the Sun. After Saturday, the days will grow longer and the Sun will return to bring Summer once again to Syracuse.

Please join us to celebrate the Sun's return...
-Listen to live jazz by Marcia Rutledge and Andrew Carroll starting at 6 PM.
-Meet our current featured artists: Amy E. Bartell, Tara Hogan and many of the members of the Syracuse Ceramic Guild.
-Do some last minute shopping and support the arts in the process! Click HERE to see art for sale at www.DelavanArtGallery.com

www.th3syracuse.com

R Bingham Morris Reception Photos

2007-12-14T16:49:00.000-05:00

Read the press release HERE: http://delavanartgallery.blogspot.com/2007/12/new-exhibit-r-bingham-morris.html

Caz College Phone Book Show Photos

2007-12-14T16:45:00.000-05:00

Check out photos of the art HERE: http://delavanartgallery.blogspot.com/2007/11/phone-book-show-opening-nov-29.html

Exhibit Sign with Bill Delavan, Anita Welych and her son Martin

Random Smiling Faces :)

Is he contemplating?

Artist Vincent Fitches and his family stopped by to check it out

Nov. 15 Opening Reception Photos

2007-12-14T15:56:00.000-05:00

Our Intern Melanie chats with Syracuse Ceramic Guild member Dee Gage

Featured Artist Tara Hogan

Syracuse Ceramic Guild members Walt and Lory Black

Featured Artist Amy E. Bartell

From Left: Brett Kashmere, Astria Superak and Tara Hogan pause for a smile

Syracuse Ceramic Guild member Bobbi Lamb

Syracuse Ceramic Guild member Sue Canizares holding one of her Bird Whistles

Arts Journalist Nancy Keefe Rhodes studies the work of Amy E. Bartell. Read her review of the exhibition in The City Eagle (we have extra copies here in the gallery)

Syracuse Ceramic Guild members Amy Komar and Ron Kalinoski

One last look at the end of the night... It was packed!

New Exhibit: R. Bingham Morris, Contemporary Acrylic Paintings

2007-12-01T13:27:00.000-05:00

Delavan Art Gallery is pleased to present the exhibit, "R. Bingham Morris, Contemporary Acrylic Paintings." The exhibit opens on Thursday, December 6 from 5-8 p.m. and continues through Saturday, December 22, 2007. It runs in conjunction with the exhibit "Wrapping Up the Season" featuring mixed media works from the series "Archeological Memoir" by Amy E. Bartell and "Conversations with Nature" by Tara Hogan as well as works by the Syracuse Ceramic Guild.

The art of R. Bingham Morris is in numerous corporate collections, including those of Time Warner, Unity Mutual Life Insurance, Haylor, Freyer and Coon, BBL and the SRC - Tech. Division. His work is best described by the man himself in his artist statement. He writes, "These paintings are about paint. They are not meant to represent scenes… no giant hibiscus, Christinas, Tahitian women, or sunflowers. They come from a different part of the mind; perhaps the subconscious. People will call these abstract expressionism, a term I find misleading. Abstract implies an abstraction of something; an object in space. These paintings are not about recognizable objects, although the abstract expressionists of the 1940’s and 50’s have allowed me to get to this place. I think my paintings are more attuned to classical music, and have no more reason to be explained than a successful symphony, provided they work. In each there is a theme, a center of interest and surrounding supporting areas. The colors employed must also convey the mood or theme of each piece. The paintings that work the best are those not labored over; they are the most fun to create. The paint (many layers) seems to just flow off the bush or the knife or my hands. I like to mix on the surface with my hands. Things happen that way that won’t happen any other way. Somehow my imagination takes over and some other part of my mind is at work.

For over 35 years I have been painting seriously, in some ways influenced by Sam Francis and Ken Price, who preceded me at the Otis Art Institute of Los Angeles County. I know---those of you who are familiar with Price’s work will say, “but he’s a ceramist”. But look at the surfaces of his wall pieces---the subtle colors, the playfulness! I hope I have attained some of those qualities in my work."

Opening Reception: Thursday, December 6 from 5 - 8 p.m.
Dates: December 6 though December 22, 2007
Location: Delavan Art Gallery, 501 W. Fayette Street, Syracuse, NY 13204
Extended Holiday Hours: Tuesdays through Fridays 12-6 p.m., Saturdays 10-4 p.m. and also by appointment
Also open for a Winter Solstice Party on Th3, The Third Thursday, December 20, 2007, 5-8 p.m.

R. Bingham Morris, "Center of Interest", 30" diameter, acrylic

R. Bingham Morris, "On the Verge", 30" x 28", acrylic

R. Bingham Morris, "Playing Fields", 48" x 48", acrylic

The Phone Book Show opening Nov. 29

2007-11-28T12:55:00.000-05:00

The Phone Book Show - a sustainability project

Cazenovia College and Delavan Art Gallery have collaborated to produce a special exhibition recycling phone books into art.

Delavan Art Gallery is proud to present the special exhibition "The Phone Book Show - a sustainability project." Delavan Art Gallery has provided excess phone books and Cazenovia College Art and Design students have turned them into art. The results will be exhibited at Delavan Art Gallery during regular gallery hours on Thursday, Nov. 29 through Saturday, Dec. 1st. and during the special reception on Thursday, Nov. 29 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM,which is free and open to the public.

The following are photographs of art created from phone books by Cazenovia College Art and Design students featured in this weekend's special exhibit...

Please join us for the opening tomorrow night from 6-8 PM!

"Wrapping Up the Season" Opens NOV 15 on Th3

2007-10-26T17:37:00.000-04:00

SYRACUSE, New York -- October 29, 2007 -- Delavan Art Gallery is pleased to present the exhibition "Wrapping Up The Season" featuring mixed media works from the series "Archeological Memoir" by Amy E. Bartell and "Conversations With Nature" by Tara Hogan in addition to works by the Syracuse Ceramic Guild. The exhibit opens on Thursday, November 15 from 5-8 p.m. and continues through Saturday, December 22, 2007.

Amy E. Bartell has returned for a second exhibition at Delavan Art Gallery to show a new series of mixed media works titled "Archeological Memoir." In her artist statement she describes the body of work as "a glimpse into memory and a quest for directional clues amidst the maps, signs, mysteries, scraps of writing and the compass of magnetic north." Bartell's art work can be found in the collections of numerous individuals and organizations including Carleton College, California State University, Syracuse University and SUNY New York. She is known as a mural artist around the country and as the former Gallery Coordinator of Delavan Art Gallery. Currently, she is a faculty member of the art department at SUNY Oswego. Bartell's approach in her new series raises the question "What do we see when we scan the horizons of our lives? Where do we dig; does 'X' really mark the spot?"

Amy Bartell, "Crossing Against the Light" mixed media, 6" x 6"

Tara Hogan is exhibiting a collection of monoprints and mixed media from a new series of work titled "Conversations With Nature." The body of work conveys a dialogue between humans, animals and nature inspired by an interest in environmental consciousness. Hogan has been a graphic designer since earning her B.F.A. in Illustration from Syracuse University eight years ago. Her art has been published in American Illustration, CMYK Magazine, Domino Magazine online and on the back of Bear Magazine. About her distinct style, Hogan explains, "I have a loving appreciation for nature's intricate beauty combined with modern urban style."

Tara Hogan, "Conversations with Nature" pencil, monoprint and ink on paper

Syracuse Ceramic Guild has returned for a third exhibition at Delavan Art Gallery, featuring ceramics by ten of its members. Selected works include eclectic ceramics by Lory and Walt Black, porcelain and stoneware by Sue Canizares, Raku sculpture by Dona Flaherty, Raku pottery by Dee Gage, abstract sculptural stoneware by Jane T. Gillett, ceramic story boxes by Amy Patricia Komar, "Biomorpheus," a body of abstract works by Ron Kalinoski, high-fired porcelain and stoneware by Bobbi Lamb and soda fired works by Steven Pilcher. The Syracuse Ceramic Guild, established in 1947, is a not-for-profit organization of potters dedicated to the promotion of awareness and understanding of the ceramic medium.

Representing Syracuse Ceramic Guild:
Jane T. Gillett, "The Unfolding" stoneware, oxide, glaze

Delavan Art Gallery is a 3,800 square foot showcase and sales venue for fine art created by area artists. Conveniently located downtown at 501 West Fayette Street in Syracuse, the gallery is free and open to the public. Off-street parking is available and the gallery is handicapped accessible. Delavan Art Gallery opens “Wrapping Up the Season” from 5 - 8 p.m. on Thursday, November 15, which is also Th3, The Third Thursday. The show is on exhibit through Saturday, December 22 on Thursday and Friday afternoons from 12-6 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. and at other times by appointment. For more information visit www.DelavanArtGallery.com.

MEET THE ARTISTS!
Artists in Attendance:
Saturday November 17, noon - 3 p.m.- Amy Bartell
Saturday November 24, noon - 3 p.m.- Artists from Syracuse Ceramic Guild (TBA)
Saturday December 1, noon - 3 p.m.- Artists from Syracuse Ceramic Guild (TBA)
Saturday December 15, noon - 3 p.m.- Tara Hogan
Saturday December 22, noon - 3 p.m.- Artists from Syracuse Ceramic Guild (TBA)

Special Events:

Thursday December 20 from 5 - 8 p.m.- Delavan Art Gallery will have several of our featured artists in attendance for Th3, The Third Thursday, Syracuse's citywide visual arts night. For more information on Th3 please visit www.th3syracuse.com

Saturday December 8 at 2 p.m.- Stone Canoe Writers Series featuring Michael Burkard and Chris Kennedy. Michael Burkard was a 2006 Stone Canoe Poetry Editor and faculty member in the Creative Writing Program at Syracuse University. Chris Kennedy is the director of the M.F.A. program in creative writing at Syracuse University and the author of full-length collections of poetry. For more information on Burkard, Kennedy and the publication Stone Canoe, please visit www.stonecanoejournal.org

– END –

Fantastic Review

2007-10-23T13:09:00.000-04:00

The Post-Standard STARS
Color to the Max
Sunday, October 21, 2007
KATHERINE RUSHWORTH
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

There's nothing like a healthy dose of color on one of Syracuse's dank, gray days. The current exhibition on view at the Delavan Art Gallery provides just the mood-altering cure we all need from time to time.

"Maximum Color," on view through Nov. 10, is comprised of glass works by Phil Austin, paintings by Alison Fisher, Jim Loveless and Lutz Scherneck and digital photography by Linda Spatuzzi. The works range from traditional to non-traditional, encompassing realistic and abstract interpretations of the landscape or raucous celebrations of color and form. On a sun-filled day, the Delavan Art Gallery virtually pulsates with color.

Painters Fisher, Loveless and Scherneck dominate the show, both in quantity of work and quality of expression. Fisher exhibits two distinctly different bodies of work - one a set of hard-edged mixed media abstract paintings comprised of acrylic, titanium, pastel, gold ink, tea leafing and copper wire and the other a group of loosely constructed, ethereal acrylic landscapes.

In the mixed media pieces such as "Heavenly Places," "Voice of Truth," and "Middle Ground," Fisher demonstrates a playful hand, with gestural lines guiding your eye across brightly colored, two-dimensional surfaces. Texture is also of greater significance than in the landscape paintings. The latter paintings are equally as concerned with color, but here Fisher engages a more muted and nuanced palette. The strongest of the acrylic pieces leave some of the landscape unresolved, where imagery is implied rather than defined; a definite lesson in less is more.

Loveless also exhibits two bodies of work, which initially seem unrelated but on closer examination demonstrate similar pictorial concerns. Loveless writes that when the two bodies of work "cohere it is more through style than subject matter."

Some of the works utilize lines, spheres and cubes to manipulate various pictorial elements. Other pieces engage the landscape as a vehicle to explore similar design elements. In "Mystical Arrangement" Loveless uses the geometric forms to play with conditions of light and shadow in the way he uses the flat sides and sharp corners of buildings in "White House on Monhegan Island." He also shows a couple of "crossover" paintings, which incorporate more literal landscapes with the geometric forms, but they just seemed to lack focus.

Scherneck grabs on to color and squeezes for all it's worth. His style is bold and expressionistic; sometimes engaging staining techniques and other times moving thick swabs of paint over the canvas with a palette knife or wide brush. Scherneck's paintings are large and loud.

"Red White Blue WMB" is one of the most dynamic of his pieces, vibrating with color and texture. "Red Flow" demonstrates some underlying staining techniques, which Scherneck works back into creating an interesting contrast of textures. In many of the pieces, he sets up implied movement within the picture plane by controlling the flow of paint.

Control is the main concern of digital artist Spatuzzi. She begins by taking photos of everyday objects or settings, which she then turns into abstract imagery through the machinations of digital technology. The pieces are dramatic, high-contrast, carefully constructed abstract forms; but some speak to their figurative origins.

The images in "Floating Leaf," "Royal Insects," and "Roboman" clearly reference their titles, but "Green Abstract," "Sunrise Abstract," and the compelling "Dee's Tablecloth" seem like pure explorations of color and form.

Finally, glass artist Austin exhibits more than two-dozen hand blown functional glass objects featuring vases and bowls in deep blue, warm green and amber tones.

"Maximum Color" lives up to its name and provides something for just about everyone. It's sure to brighten your day even on one of Syracuse's darkest.

View the article at Syracuse.com HERE

Post-Standard article about County Executive candidates at Delavan Art Gallery

2007-10-08T13:33:00.000-04:00

The following is a quote from an article just published about the recent appearance of County Executive candidates Magnarelli and Mahoney at Delavan Art Gallery to meet with ACLA.

"Magnarelli, Mahoney talk arts funding

Monday, October 08, 2007
JOHN MARIANI
POLITICAL NOTEBOOK
The scene: a three-deep semicircle of chairs surrounding a "hot seat" in the Delavan Art Gallery.

The players: the major party candidates for Onondaga County executive, Republican Joanie Mahoney and Democrat Bill Magnarelli.

The show: an unscripted discussion of county participation in the arts with the Arts & Culture Leadership Council, a group comprised of executives of Central New York's leading cultural organizations.

One after the other, Magnarelli and Mahoney took the hot seat last week to give their views on the role of the arts in Central New York and to say what they would do as county executive to foster them.

Culture and the arts are personally important to him, Magnarelli said. When he was 7 or 8 years old, his parents started him with music lessons; being Italian-American, he said, the instrument of choice was the accordion. He hadn't picked one up in 20 years, he said, but probably could still squeeze out a tune. More importantly, he said, the lessons gave him a lifelong appreciation of the arts.

Beyond his personal experience, the arts and cultural events are important to the lifeblood and economy of the community, raising spirits, entertaining tourists and attracting new residents, Magnarelli said. "If we're going to bring back downtown Syracuse," he said, "I don't see how we can do it without the arts."

The county should provide more financial support and make the grant process more transparent and predictable, perhaps by strengthening the Cultural Resources Council, so art organizations can plan better, he said.

Mahoney said she saw how important the arts were to economic development when her husband, Marc Overdyk, and his partners wooed Shell Oil Co. to set up a subsidiary in Syracuse. Among the things the people they were dealing with wanted to know about was Syracuse's cultural life, she said.

As county executive, she said, she would lean on alliance members to learn how decisions on arts spending are made and to help come up with a spending plan. She'd be willing to talk about increasing funding, she said. When one alliance member complained that politics plays too great a role in arts funding, she suggested setting up a dedicated pool of money for the arts and a bipartisan council to decide how to spend it.

Cultivating the arts could help retain young adults and encourage expatiates to return to Central New York, Mahoney said. Recent college graduates she's met while campaigning seem almost defensive about their decision to remain here, she said.

"We need to make this city, this region, cooler," Mahoney said.

The arts group will make no endorsement in the race, said Laura Reeder, its chairwoman. The forum was as much to let the candidates get to know the alliance members as is was to let the members get to know the candidates, she said.

For the record, the modified 2008 county budget being voted on Tuesday by the county Legislature includes $1.24 million for 17 arts and cultural groups. That would be a 16 percent increase from this year. It doesn't include $74,000 in extra money the Legislature proposes to set aside in contingency accounts...."

Read the rest of the article on Syracuse.com

Mick Mather and Berman's Community Mural

2007-10-08T13:25:00.001-04:00

Cultural Resources Council Special Project Coordinator Mick Mather came by Delavan Center recently to paint with Michael Berman on his community mural. He's recently posted a photo and some comments on his blog http://nomatterwhatshape.blogspot.com/ Please check it out!

Artist Demonstration and Poetry Reading

2007-10-03T13:50:00.000-04:00

This Saturday October 6th at Delavan Art Gallery...

Artist Demonstration at 12:30 p.m.

Presentation and demonstration by artist Sandy Clift about the process of creating her series "While I Was Sleeping"

After retiring from thirty-one years of teaching elementary school in Fulton, NY, Sandy Clift returned to the State University College at Oswego to pursue art and has been exhibiting nationally and regionally ever since. This exhibition features a series of art called "While I Was Sleeping." In these works, Clift combines technically detailed drawing with unique surfaces creating using tissue paper, packaging paper, matte medium, glue, pastels, Caran d'Ache, watercolors and acrylics. About the imaginative subject matter, Clift writes in her artist statement, "I had a collection of plastic animals when I was a child. I still have some of them, and it is still amusing to consider what they might be up to while I am busy."

Poetry Reading at 2 p.m.

Stone Canoe Poetry Reading featuring performing poet and sound artist Duriel Harris.

Heralded as one of three Chicago poets for the 21st century by WBEZ Chicago Public Radio, Duriel E. Harris holds a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, an M.A. from the Graduate Creative Writing Program at NYU and a B.A. in Literature from Yale University. A member of reedist Douglas Ewart’s experimental jazz choir, Inventions, Harris is a co-founder of The Black Took Collective and the Poetry Editor for Obsidian III: Literature in the African Diaspora.

Future Stone Canoe Poetry Readings
Oct 6, 2007- Duriel Harris
November 3, 2007- Phil Memmer
December 8, 2007- Chris Kennedy and Michael Burkard
February 23, 2008- Thom Ward
March 29, 2008- Charles Martin
May 3, 2008- TBA
June 7, 2008- TBA

See you on Saturday!